TAKEAWAYS: Braves rock Cleveland, cruise to another series win
After having another win streak snapped in extra innings last night, the Braves kept the drama to a minimum tonight in an 8-1 win (the 600th win for manager Brian Snitker). Here are some takeaways.
Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy
The Braves have been a dominant team all around in 2023, but that dominance has been absolute in the first inning. The Braves have averaged more than a run per game (1.02 to be exact) in the first inning this season. That number is 0.23 runs higher than the second-place Dodgers (0.79), which is a bigger gap than stands between Dodgers and the 13th-placed Angels (0.57). Nobody can touch the Braves when it comes to the opening frame, and all these numbers don't even include the four-spot the Bravos dropped on Cleveland Wednesday evening.
The Braves didn't use the long ball to score those four runs, which is a mild upset. Instead, they tortured struggling Guardians starter Cal Quantrill with four straight seeing-eye singles to plate the first two runs. Eddie Rosario then laced a double into the left-center gap to bring the run total to four, and the visitors were off to the races.
Heavy Traffic
Michael Soroka was the beneficiary of that early run support, and while he made it stand up, he certainly didn't make it easy. In 4.2 innings, the big Canuck allowed ten baserunners (five hits, three walks, two hit batsmen). Cleveland advanced runners to second and third in three of the five innings, with Soroka pulling repeated Houdini acts to get out of the soup.
On the one hand, he put on a clinic when he needed to, bearing down to record four strikeouts, all of which came with men in scoring position and three of which came with a runner on third and fewer than two outs. It's good to know Michael can find that gear when he needs it, but it'd be nice if he didn't need quite so much. Cleveland isn't a very good offense, but they kept putting pressure on Soroka and ran his pitch count up to 99 before Brian Snitker pulled him with two on and two out in the fifth.
It's been a long road back for the promising Atlanta righty, and tonight is another step down that road. He seems to be refining aspects of his game with each outing, but there's still work to do. But with this offense and bullpen behind him, he's got time to do that work while still helping the Braves stack up Ws.
Mash Mash Mash
The Braves didn't use the longball in the first inning, but the inevitable tater-mashing would commence in the third.
Sean Murphy got it going with an absolute seed down the left-field line. The game went quiet for a few innings before the thunder returned in the seventh.
Austin Riley extended his arms and popped a middle-away fastball into the seats near the right-field corner. That's a good piece of hitting and a showcase of Austin's strength. And speaking of strength...
Mash Olson returned in the top of the ninth, extending his NL homer lead with an absolute bomb to right off lefty Sam Hentges. You know Olson's locked in when you see him doing this kind of damage against a southpaw, and he's been doing it fairly regularly for a few weeks now.
Honky Tonkin
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Honkytonk Man, Michael Tonkin. Seemingly a placeholder (due to the initial Kyle Wright injury) on the active roster when the team broke camp back in March, Tonkin has defied the odds and stayed on the big league squad all season long. He's done by that being a more-than-serviceable long reliever, routinely covering multiple innings in blowout wins and helping keep the Braves within reach in games that could've turned into blowout losses.
Tonight it was 3.1 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and striking out three. His ERA drops to 2.55. His FIP and xFIP aren't as impressive, but he's been getting results in a position where results are really all you care about. Consistent work like this from a guy like Tonkin, who hadn't pitched in the majors since 2017, is how a great team becomes a juggernaut. There just aren't any holes.
On Deck
The Braves are off tomorrow, and then one of the most anticipated series of the year kicks off on Friday when Atlanta, with the best record in baseball, travels to St. Petersburg to take on the Tampa Bay Rays, owners of the American League's best record. Former Ray Charlie Morton (8-6, 3.57 ERA, 3.76 FIP) gets the ball for the Braves, while Tampa counters with Tyler Glasnow (2-2, 4.50 ERA, 3.68 FIP), a supremely talented right-hander who's still trying to fully regain his pre-Tommy John surgery form.
First pitch from the Trop is set for 6:40 Eastern. The game broadcast for Friday is available nationally on AppleTV+. 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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