Rain forced Tuesday night’s contest versus the Tigers to be postponed, but the Braves did get a win in the form of positive injury news surrounding Marcell Ozuna. Despite the Big Bear going to the hospital after being hit in the hand with a pitch, X-Rays across the board were negative. He continues to be listed as day-to-day with a right hand contusion; however, the Braves said he was available to pinch hit last night if needed, so it’s very possible he’s in the lineup for one of the two games Atlanta will play today in Detroit.
Doubleheaders are always fun, but they are even more exciting when you have Spencer Strider and AJ Smith-Shawver scheduled to start in each game. The two fireballers aim to turn this series around against a Tigers team that came into this matchup with the Braves losers of eight straight games prior to Monday night’s victory.
Last time out, Spencer Strider was roughed up by the Mets to the tune of eight runs over four innings. New York is one of the few teams that has had success versus the Braves ace over his entire career, but even more discouraging was Strider’s fastball velocity, which dipped into the mid-90s after the first couple of innings. That is something everyone will be monitoring as he aims to return to form this afternoon.
In Game 2, Smith-Shawver is still looking for his first major-league win. Although, his first couple of outings in the bigs have been nothing short of sensational for a 20-year-old with only 110 minor-league innings under his belt. He’s yet to allow an earned run over 7.2 innings and has a chance to continue that streak against a struggling Tigers offense.
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Photographer: Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire
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