If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have believed it. Our much maligned (and justly so!) offense, which had two measly singles and no runs the night before, pounded out 15 hits and plated a dozen runners.
Ok, maybe that offensive explosion was not expected, but a shutout from this stellar staff makes sense. But wait: Jesse Chavez, John Brebbia, and Luke Jackson combined for eight innings of shutout ball on just two hits. Really, they did.
That unlikely trio’s eight innings followed one inning from starter Reynaldo Lopez, who left the game with a sore shoulder. He’s getting an MRI today, but as of this writing I haven’t heard any results. He has been placed on the 15-day IL with right shoulder inflammation. Theoretically he’ll get a couple of weeks rest and be ready to help in the post-season. But I wouldn’t bet the mortgage on that.
I wouldn’t bet on the return of Lopez, that is. As to making the playoffs, I like our chances. It’s a tight race among four teams for three spots. Our guys are back in a tie for the final spot, and only 2.5 games separate the four of them.
Several folks here have suggested that if we make the playoffs, it will likely be an early exit. The fear is that this lineup simply can’t score enough against good teams and good pitching to win a series.
Y’all may be right—the team may be eliminated in the first series. But if you’re convinced of that, you haven’t fully internalized the crapshoot nature of the playoffs. Once you’re in, anything can happen. Did you predict that the Braves would hit four homers and score twelve runs last night? Did you predict 8 shutout innings from Jesse, Brebbia, and Sliderman?
See, that’s what makes baseball more fascinating than other pro sports I follow. Sometimes players who haven’t hit well or pitched well find magic for a few games. A weaker team really does have a pretty good chance to beat a stronger team in any given game. I know that last night’s 12-0 laugher was against the lowly Nats, but those same Nats (and McKenzie Gore) had the Braves’ number earlier this season.
As I’ve said several times before, we’re in a tight pennant race of evenly matched teams. Might as well enjoy the ride.
By the way, Daysbel Hernandez has been recalled. That’s a good thing. Cavan Biggio has been signed to replace Luke Williams as the most recent body to man second base. Don’t expect much there.
One more against the Natspos tonight behind Varsity Fried. Really need a win tonight before facing the Dodgers back in ATL for four over the weekend.
I like Cavan Biggio for no other reason than his dad was one of my favorite non-Braves of my youth. He sure did look like he was gonna be good at the start, but he’s a good reason why every young player should take the money if offered. You don’t always hit your prime at 27.
For the record… with only 16 games left in their season, the Chicago White Sox are 80 games below .500.
Our 2 losses to the White Sox will be the reason we didn’t make the playoffs if we don’t make it — especially the 1-0 loss handed to Sale on the makeup game on June 27th.
This season will be defined by 5 games – 1-0 loss to White Sox, 1-0 loss to Reds, 9-8 loss to Rockies, and two bullpen meltdowns against Phillies (lost 3/4 instead of winning 3/4). Those are the difference between out of playoffs and 3rd best record in league and maybe division title. We may yet win 90 games and not make the playoffs.
Mets down 1-0 in the 9th and win 6-1. Braves down 1-0 in the 9th twice and lose 1-0.
Yup. If you don’t hit, you can lose to anybody.
FWIW, we lost both makeup games (CWS, Cin) by 1-0 scores.
BTW, if we win the Sept 24-26 series w/ the Mets, we only have to finish tied with them to take the last WC spot (if it comes down to that).
Fun stuff from mlb pipeline:
Our top prospect, Cam Caminiti is ranked 97th overall, but he is first overall among the Cams, of which there are 3 in the top 100.
97-Cam Caminiti
98-Cam Collier
100-Cam Smith
Cam Caminiti is the Cam so nice, they named him Cam twice.
Before this comment, I just assumed “Cam” was a nickname off of his last name. They literally named the kid Cameron Caminiti? That’s just silly.
Haha silly but kinda catchy. I kinda like it.
There’s that sad and awkward story of a young reporter asking what his uncle Ken Caminiti said about him getting drafted. The young reporter, of course, didn’t know that Ken died before Cam was born.
RE: Lopez (JC’ed from last thread)
I think I’m somewhere in the middle here, and it’s pretty much been decided anyway. He’s on the 15 day IL, so he’ll just rest and then re-evaluate. If you ramp him back up and he can make 2 regular season starts before the playoffs, then it should be ok. I would still start him over Morton in the playoffs, but I do understand the desire to start a healthy Schwellenbach over a potentially injured and rusty Lopez.
The playoffs are indeed a lottery ticket, and I want to see what our rotation can do in a short series. We’ll undoubtedly be poised to win a 3-game series, and I also trust us to get 3 good starting pitching performances out of 5 in a 5-game series. And then for what it’s worth, Schwellenbach or Morton as a game 4 starter in a 7-game series is as good as any team can throw out of the fourth spot. The bullpen can shorten games with the best of them.
And anyone who dares try to guess what this offense can do in a short series is foolish. Maybe we get Riley back, maybe we don’t. Ozzie will be back. And just like in 2021, you just need a few guys to get hot.
I’m not looking towards 2025. 2025 means no Morton or Fried right now, who knows if Sale and Lopez can repeat these seasons, and who knows who the hell will be healthy next year. Acuna, Harris, and Ozzie have been crapshoots so far in their career. We’re getting bailed out by Merrifield, Laureano, and Urshela, and I want to see what a bunch of veterans can do in a postseason series as well.
Clint Black may say that a fool says third time is the charm, but I think we were unlucky these last 2 years. Let’s see if we can get some luck.
Bullpen meltdown in Toronto…up 1-0 and 3 outs away from no-hitting the Mets, the Jays starter and 2 relievers combined to give up a single, a double, 4 walks, 2 sac flies, and 2 homers, for a total of 6 runs. :/
Fried dancing through the raindrops. Let’s get some runs. Or someone on base.
Kinda rooting for the no-hitter now. It would be fitting.