Travis d’Arnaud d’id d’amage Sunday as the Braves ended the metaphorical first half of the season with a 6-3 win over the Padres.
Atlanta’s veteran, back catchup, d’Arnaud d’id d’amage all over the place on Sunday. He stole his first of the season and scored on an Adam Duvall single in the fifth. That run gave the Braves lead back, 2-1. Sure, it helped that Randy Vásquez had a brain-fart and threw from the windup, but d’Arnaud d’id d’amage just the same.
An inning later, d’Arnaud d’id a little more d’amage, belting a center-cut slider 431 feet to left-center, extending the lead for 5-1. He squared the pitch up at 1-7.2 mph with a 32 degree LA – a home run in any park you play. And just for good measure, d’Arnaud added an insurance run in the eighth. This time, his two-out blast traveled 445 feet, 109.7 mph off the bat.
Come Sale away with me
While d’Arnaud d’id d’amage, Chris Sale limited damage throughout the day and won his 13 decision of the year. I know people don’t track wins anymore, but to have 13 wins before the break (and perhaps two the slipped away without run support) is impressive. Sale’s ERA dipped to 2.70 in the win. He wasn’t as crisp and clean as he can be, but he still allowed just one run in his five innings of work.
A.J. Minter had a rough go of it, allowing three hits and two runs in 2/3 inning of work. Fortunately, Joe Jiménez picked him up, though his eighth inning saw three balls die on the warning track. Pierce Johnson worked a clean sixth, and Raisel Iglesias a clean ninth for his 22nd save of the season. Raisel’s ERA is 2.02 and he is somewhat quietly having a great season in that role.
Unfortunately, Sale will not pitch in the All-Star Game Tuesday night, but both Reynaldo Lopez and Max Fried might. One thing is for sure, you should be able to watch some Big Fly’s from the Big Bear in tonight’s Home Run Derby.
The Braves are 8.5 games back of the Phlies in the NL East race at the break, 11 games over .500 at 53-42. Enjoy the break, let’s make a push down the stretch, y’all!
JC’d: Don’t know anything about scouting high school talent, but you can do a lot worse at pick 24 than a lefty pitcher with Caminiti pedigree hitting 98-100 on the gun at age 17. Seems like a steal.
Agreed. Here’s Keith Law’s take:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5638783/2024/07/15/mlb-draft-2024-analysis-first-round/
He was #27 on Keith Law’s big board but #15 on MLB.com’s ranking. Super easy to get excited about a high school power lefty with major league bloodlines. In a year that’s generally viewed as a weak draft class, drafting for upside seems like the right move, particularly when we’re at the back of the line.
Do any of you who follow prep ball more closely have an informed take on him?
Man, the All-Star Break is too long.
Agreed.