The Braves are atop the standings in the NL East again for the first time in what seems like forever. They have picked up their play lately and a statement win against a Brewers team that dominated them in Milwaukee weeks ago is a huge win.
Last night the offense just had one of those nights. However, it was even more of a joy watching Kevin Gausman pitch for one of the first times as a Brave. In an interview during the game broadcasted on Facebook earlier this week, Gausman revealed that Alex Anthopolous gave him a lot of information on how he could become more productive as a pitcher. Gausman is a former top pick with a ton of potential, but he has never maximized it in Baltimore.
Last night, he made an adjustment. He pitched the entire game from the stretch, and the results speak for themselves. He went 8 innings and had 8 strikeouts to go with just one earned run against one of the best offenses in baseball.
It is certainly encouraging seeing almost immediate results from Gausman tinkering around, and a change of scenery likely helps as well. Here’s to hoping we see more of what we saw last night.