Let’s get the hard part out of the way…Charlie Morton looked good yesterday. His fastball was lively. His curveball was filthy. His pitch to Kris Bryant, in which Bryant deposited over the left field fence, was a really good pitch. When a team comes into a game with a sub .100 batting average with 2 outs and runners in scoring position, one would expect for the baseball gods to intervene. They did.
From there, Matzek came in, looked good in 1 inning then couldn’t find the plate in the next and gave up a 450 foot dinger to Wilson Contreras. Nate Jones relieved him, looked bad…and tired (like everyone else in the bullpen) and somehow didn’t give up any runs or hits. A.J. Minter was less than spectacular but again, no runs. Then entered Will Smith, who seriously looks rejuvenated, and he set things right with some pretty filthy stuff.
The offensive heroes were Dansby Swanson, Travis D’Arnaud, and Freddie Freeman who drove in 6 of the 8 Braves runs. Collectively, the team had 10 hits (5 of the extra base variety) and 7 walks. Guillermo Heredia continues to be the offensive surprise of the season, collecting 2 doubles last night and raising his OPS to 1.037 (say huh?). Quad-A player Austin Riley is now carrying a .382 OBP on the season which puts him in the top-5 of the league. If he somehow maintained his current production throughout the year, he’d be a 3.7 WAR player in 2022. Man, Quad-A must be chock full of talent.
Good News? I’ll take it!
This might not be the news we really wanted to hear in regards to Mike Soroka, but it’s refreshing to know it’s not a long-term injury.
Braves Lineup
@ian_anderson15 takes the mound tonight vs. the Cubs!
Presented by @TruistNews | #ForTheA
Originally tweeted by Atlanta Braves (@Braves) on April 27, 2021.
Thanks Ryan, that is good news on Soroka. Has anyone heard anything when Newk might be back?
@1
I have…from his dad. He’s expected to be back any day. I was surprised it wasn’t today.
That was basically my assumption with Soroka. He could pick up a ball and start throwing as soon as the swelling and discomfort are gone. Then mark the calendar for 4 weeks from that date and then wait and see if the discomfort redevelops. It’s 4/27 and there’s no rush to have Soroka before June considering how delicate they treat shoulders.
Ugh, Acuña is broken again. No reason to watch the game, I guess.
Well, we left the bases loaded, but on the plus side, we got the pitcher out.
Ian putting together his second excellent start in a row—he’s the real deal.
Not the most exciting game to watch, but Ian is dealing. He’s so easy to watch. Smooth delivery, throws a ton of strikes, swing-and-miss stuff. Such a high ceiling.
Hahaha Chip and Glavine talking about how Acuna’s cooled off, and mid-sentence for Glavine, Acuna hits a 450 foot bomb. Yeah, not so much, fellas.
@4–yeah, he sucks. Send him to the alternate site.
That shot he just hit went 481.
My God, Ronald.
That was a beautiful homer.
Hey since Ronald now has multiple neck tattoos, does that mean I can no longer rag on Molina for having a terrible neck tattoo? I’m torn here.
3rd time through the order is being more fun.
481? I don’t remember a Braves player ever hitting one that far.
I feel like Anderson might could be a good ‘un.
@13: 495 by Acuna last year… but that’s the only one longer since Statcast has been measuring https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_search?hfPT=&hfAB=home..run|&hfBBT=&hfPR=&hfZ=&stadium=&hfBBL=&hfNewZones=&hfGT=R|PO|&hfC=&hfSea=2020|2019|2018|2017|2016|2015|&hfSit=&player_type=batter&hfOuts=&opponent=&pitcher_throws=&batter_stands=&hfSA=&game_date_gt=&game_date_lt=&hfInfield=&team=ATL&position=&hfOutfield=&hfRO=&home_road=&hfFlag=&hfPull=&metric_1=api_h_distance_projected&metric_1_gt=440&metric_1_lt=&hfInn=&min_pitches=0&min_results=0&group_by=name-event&sort_col=pitches&player_event_sort=api_h_distance_projected&sort_order=desc&min_pas=0&chk_event_launch_speed=on&chk_event_hit_distance_sc=on#results
[Edit… I think that was too long to parse… Just click the Braves link here: https://www.mlb.com/news/longest-home-runs-for-every-mlb-team-c271050576 ]
Ozzie and Dansby are waking up.
Dans has been putting together some really good swings.
I remember El Oso Blanco launching one in Philly. Either in 2013, or 2014. I’ll have to see if I can find the estimated measure.
I just checked. He hit one 486 of Hamels in September 2013. That was a blast.
This is the kind of game we haven’t had much of this year: boring and one-sided for the good guys. I love it!
@9
He isn’t hitting .400 anymore, an occasional blast isn’t enough 😉
Ozuna and TDA are still missing, though.
Recapped, baby!
https://bravesjournal.mystagingwebsite.com/2021/04/27/braves-5-teddy-bears-0/