TAKEAWAYS: Braves take game two against the Angels 5-1
After going down fairly quietly last night, the Braves returned to form Tuesday with a comfortable win over the Halos. Here are some takeaways.
Striding into the Record Book
On a day where much of the discussion centered on whether the Braves would add another starting pitcher or not, the team's current ace reminded everyone what kind of firepower they already have in the rotation. And Spencer Strider made history yet again in the process.
Spencer struck nine Angels out, and his first-inning K of Shohei Ohtani saw him break his own record for fastest to reach to 200 strikeouts in a season. (He reached the mark in 123.1 innings this season after doing it in 131 innings last year.) On the whole, 99 threw 6.2 innings, with those nine Ks matched against two walks, five hits, and one earned run allowed.
110 pitches equals his career high, so it's perhaps worth noting that. But Strider pitched like an ace yet again, and his major league leading xFIP will likely improve, along with his other rate stats.
Cash Money
Remember when Michael Harris II was struggling back in the spring? The summer has been a different story entirely, with the Georgia native heating up with the weather. He became the eighth Brave to reach double-digit homers this season with a tie-breaking solo shot in the fifth and then added his 11th bomb as the second half of back-to-back blasts two innings later (Orlando Arcia hit the first, also his 11th of the season).
The first homer was also notable because it came against a lefty. That's his third tater against a southpaw this season, and on the whole, Harris has been fairly matchup-proof in 2023. Coming into tonight, he was batting .277 with a .734 OPS and 98 wRC+ against lefties, compared to a .271/.766/104 line against righties. The sample size is fairly small considering how few lefties the Braves see (tonight was the first opposing southpaw starter in over a month), but that could play heavily in October.
Bullpen Depth
It was a fairly quiet pre-deadline period for the Braves, with rumored acquisitions of a starting pitcher or outfielder coming to nothing. But where the Braves did add was in the bullpen. Brad Hand was acquired today from Colorado, with Pierce Johnson of course having already been added. Neither man pitched tonight (Hand hasn't joined the roster yet), but with the recent return of A.J. Minter from the IL, along with the blistering form of Joe Jiménez, you're seeing what was briefly a patchwork unit turn into potentially a major strength. (And this bullpen was already third in baseball in FIP and fWAR and fifth in ERA and xFIP.)
Jiménez and Minter both saw action tonight, with the former getting out of two-out jam in the seventh and the latter pitching a scoreless eighth to set up Raisel Iglesias for the ninth. Hand gives the Braves a veteran lefty to pair with Minter, which brings much-needed balance to what had been a very right-hand-dominant group. And with Dylan Lee seemingly nearing his return from a lengthy IL stint, the Braves could sport as tough a trio of lefties in the 'pen as any team once October hits. And this doesn't mention the possible returns of guys like Jesse Chavez or Nick Anderson (though Anderson's is very far away).
The playoffs are dominated by small samples, and almost every reliever's role is magnified. The Braves look to have plenty of options when the time comes.
On Deck
It's getaway day tomorrow, with the rubber game of this three-game series starting at 12:20 PM Eastern. Yonny Chirinos (4-4, 4.34 ERA, 5.34 FIP) gets the ball for Atlanta as he auditions for a role in the pitching staff once Max Fried returns to Atlanta (which is imminent).
Opposing him is Fried's former high school teammate Lucas Giolito (6-7, 3.85 ERA, 4.55 FIP), who will be making his second start as an Angel after they acquired him from the White Sox last week. (He took a loss against Toronto in his first outing.)
The game broadcast, with Voice of the Braves Brandon Gaudin, is available inside Braves Country on Bally Sports South and is available on MLB.TV outside of the broadcast area. The radio call, with Ben Ingram, is available locally on 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan or outside the Atlanta market on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network or MLB.com.
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