Week: 2-4
Overall: 37-28 (T-1st in NL East)
Overall, it was a rough week for the Braves who took a trip out west for six games and only came out with two wins against two teams below .500. After leaping across the Nationals last weekend with a series win, the Bravos now find themselves tied atop the division with the defending NL East champs who finished the week 3-2.
Padres-3 games (1-2)
The Braves started out with three games at Petco Park and only managed to pick up one win with the front end of the rotation pitching. On Monday, Julio Teheran was pulled after four innings when he had given up four earned runs and his fastball topped out at 88 mph. After the game, Teheran was placed on the 10 day disabled list with a right thumb injury. Luiz Gohara replaced Teheran but was shelled by the Padres lineup by allowing six earned runs on six hits and failed to complete a full inning. The Padres ended up with an 11-4 win on a long Monday night.
Tuesday was where the Braves picked up one of their two wins of the week. The Braves handed the pounding right back to the Padres with a 14-1 win. Sean Newcomb pitched a six inning gem by not allowing a single run and giving up only three hits on four strikeouts. Freddie Freeman hit a perfect 4-4 with a solo shot and a pair of doubles, while Dansby Swanson got on base four times along with a two-run shot. The Braves had their best offensive game of the week as a whole by going 9-19 with runners in scoring position, winning by a score of two touchdowns-1.
On Wednesday, the Braves bats went cold after a fourteen run game the night before. Atlanta only had four hits and could not get Mike Foltynewicz enough run support to collect the win. Mike went five innings with only allowing two runs on five hits and tallied eight punch outs. Freddie Freeman hit another long shot Wednesday in the loss to give him back-to-back nights with a homer. But the Padres came out with the 3-1 victory and a series win.
Dodgers-3 games (1-2)
Following an off-day on Thursday, the Braves did not appear to be ready for rookie starting pitcher, Walker Buehler, who pitched five and a third innings while allowing only two base runners and one run. Brandon McCarthy had another sluggish start by giving up four earned runs through four and two-thirds innings on his way to his third loss of the season. His ERA also shot up to above 5.00 for the first time this season in the Dodgers 7-3 win.
Saturday night was the Braves second and final win of the week. Anibal Sanchez made his second start after coming off of the DL and produced a solid outing to lead the Braves to a 5-3 victory. He pitched five and a third innings, allowing just two earned runs with five strikeouts. The bullpen pitched a great game the rest of the way by only allowing a combined three hits through three and two thirds innings. The Braves racked up fourteen hits on the night, but missed out on a lot of scoring opportunities and were fortunate that the Dodgers were even worse. Former Brave, Alex Wood, did not get the run support that he needed and dropped to 1-5 on the season. Anibal Sanchez advanced to 2-0, while Arodys Vizcaino notched his eleventh save of the year.
The Braves wrapped up the tough road trip with a Sunday afternoon loss in Chavez Ravine. The Dodgers took the rubber match with a series of long balls against starting pitcher Sean Newcomb. Newcomb did not perform nearly as well as he did on Tuesday against the Padres after exiting in the sixth inning by giving up five runs and seven hits. Ross Stripling performed very well as he has done all season for the Dodgers by giving up two runs and seeing his ERA drop to 1.65 on the season. Stripling picked up his fifth victory to move to 5-1 while Sean Newcomb fell to 7-2.
Who’s Hot?
FREDERICK CHARLES FREEMAN (times like 100)
This is the Atlanta Braves best hitter and he will be here for a veryyyy long time. Freddie has now shot his batting average up to .340 with a gigantic hitting week. Freddie went 10-26 on the road trip with three dingers and adding five RBI’s. The 28 year old got off to a slow hitting start to the season but over the last two weeks has started to kick it up a notch, which hopefully shows that this is his turning point of the season.
Dansby Swanson
The young shortstop has not yet shown his true full potential for the Braves, but since the start of June, has started to show more and more why he was a number one pick a few years ago. Dansby went 7-25 on the week with a homer, three RBI’s and six runs scored. Swanson also flashed some great leather throughout the week with a couple of huge defensive plays against the Padres and some star-studded double plays turned along with Ozzie Albies against the Dodgers.
Carter Stewart
On Monday, the Braves selected RHP Carter Stewart with the 8th pick in the 2018 MLB draft. Stewart is a Florida High School prep pitcher from Eau Gallie HS. He is said to have the nastiest curveball in the draft which also has a higher spin rate than any pitcher’s curveball in the majors. The young man has high hopes and makes the future even brighter for this young-talented ball club.
Who’s Cold?
Ozzie Albies
After one of the hottest starts to the season by any player in the majors and of any 20 year old in the history of Major League Baseball, Ozzie Albies has seen his hitting sharply decline over the most recent weeks. Ozzie went just 5-26 with only two runs scored and struck out seven times. As a leadoff hitter for one of the best teams in the national league, those stats just are not going to cut it on a weekly basis. With a lot on his shoulders, hopefully the young gun can turn things around and find the success that he once had earlier in the season.
The Bullpen
The Braves bullpen had a rough going on the west coast trip. Over two series, the bullpen allowed fifteen earned runs and twenty hits in just under twenty innings of work. They also gave up a total of five long balls over the course of six games. It was not a good week for the bullpen who will get an off day on Monday before coming home for a whole week against two mediocre hitting teams.
Injury Report:
Julio Teheran
Braves opening day starter Julio Teheran was placed on the 10 day disabled list after injuring his right thumb during Mondays game against the Padres. Teheran had just started to heat up after a slow start to the season before his injury earlier in the week. He currently sits with a 4.31 ERA through 71 innings pitched. This does not appear to be too significant of an injury but the length of time needed to recover is still undetermined.
Mike Soroka
The good news for the Braves starting rotation is that 20 year old, Mike Soroka will be making his return after missing nearly a month on the DL with a shoulder strain. Soroka went 1-1 in his three starts earlier this season with a 3.68 earned run average and will likely pitch Wednesday at home against the Mets.
Ronald Acuna Jr.
After landing on the DL two weeks ago with an ACL strain, the rookie phenom has started to progress with his injury. The Braves are being very optimistic with Acuna and hope that he can be back in the lineup at some point in this upcoming week. The goal is for him to participate in a rehab game early in the week for one day and then head up to majors for the weekend series at home against the padres.
It was for sure, a dissapointing week for the Braves to say the least but also a learning one. Traveling far away from home with only one day of rest is tough for a young group of guys. Hopefully the Braves can jump back into sole possession of first place in the NL east with a big opportunity this week as the Bravos play six games at home with an off day on Monday before taking the field Tuesday night. Lets go Braves and Chop On!!
Below are the upcoming games this week and the probable starters…
Tuesday: vs Mets @7:35 (Vargas vs Foltynewicz) on ESPN
Wednesday: vs Mets @12:10 (Wheeler vs Soroka) on MLBN and FSSE
Thursday: vs Padres @7:35 (Ross vs McCarthy) on FSSE
Friday: vs Padres @ 7:35 (TBD vs TBD) on FSSO
Saturday: vs Padres @5:10 (TBD vs TBD) on FSSO
Sunday: vs Padres @1:35 (TBD vs TBD) on FSSO