Braves Regular Season

[stinger78]

And Sale pitches a gem, too: 7 IP, 1BB, 2H (1 HR), 1 ER. 95 pitches to 25 batters faced - about 4 pitches per batter and 14 pitches/inning. That's pretty tight.

 

[THWG]

And Sale pitches a gem, too: 7 IP, 1BB, 2H (1 HR), 1 ER. 95 pitches to 25 batters faced - about 4 pitches per batter and 14 pitches/inning. That's pretty tight.

He and Lopez have been outstanding so far. Two very good pickups this offseason.

 

[stinger78]

He and Lopez have been outstanding so far. Two very good pickups this offseason.

Most definitely so far. As Snit said, Lope has that extra gear to reach back to when needed. Sale looks to have bounced back well.

 

[stinger78]

Fifth straight gem from the rotation! Too bad the bullpen couldn’t hold this one. Two straight games the pen looks shaky. Not concerned yet, but that cannot continue.

Those 5 games are:
Elder: 6.2 IP/ 8 H/ 0 ER/ 0 BB/ 4 K
Fried: 9 IP/ 3 H: 0 ER/ O BB/ 6 K
Lopes: 7 IP/ 3 H/ 1 ER/ 2 BB/ 6 K
Sale: 7 IP/ 2H/ 1 ER/ 1 BB/ 6K
Morton: 7 IP/ 4H/ 0 ER/ 1 BB/ 6 K

Rotation has given up 2 ER in the last 5 games, 36.2 IP. That’s lights out right there!

 

[kg01]

Fifth straight gem from the rotation! Too bad the bullpen couldn’t hold this one. Two straight games the pen looks shaky. Not concerned yet, but that cannot continue.

Those 5 games are:
Elder: 6.2 IP/ 8 H/ 0 ER/ 0 BB/ 4 K
Fried: 9 IP/ 3 H: 0 ER/ O BB/ 6 K
Lopes: 7 IP/ 3 H/ 1 ER/ 2 BB/ 6 K
Sale: 7 IP/ 2H/ 1 ER/ 1 BB/ 6K
Morton: 7 IP/ 4H/ 0 ER/ 1 BB/ 6 K

Rotation has given up 2 ER in the last 5 games, 36.2 IP. That’s lights out right there!

Yeah but I can't kill em for last night. They got 2 runs without the ball leaving the infield in the 8th iirc. Just a weird turn of events. Then gave it up in extras. Bullpen has been pretty stellar so far, relatively speaking.

To your point though, if we can get that from the starters consistently.. woo boy.

 

[stinger78]

Braves walk it off on a Riley single bottom of the 10th. Elder pitched a good game though not the gem of the previous 5 games. Good series win against the team that’s keeping pace with them. Two very close teams and a great series.

 

[Golden Tornadoes]

Yeah but I can't kill em for last night. They got 2 runs without the ball leaving the infield in the 8th iirc. Just a weird turn of events. Then gave it up in extras. Bullpen has been pretty stellar so far, relatively speaking.

To your point though, if we can get that from the starters consistently.. woo boy.

I'd also add we are 4-1 in extra innings games this year and an MLB best 12-4 since the start of last season. The Braves have figured out how to win close games late which is a big must in order to be a contender. Plus, we have to consider that Murphy has been sidelined since almost the whole month of April, Strider is done for the year, Fried just started looking like himself again, Olson and Acuna have been slumping horribly so far, and we are still looking for a 5th starter. All that considered, I'd say we are faring better than just about any other team if given those same circumstances. So far, that Lopez move looks like the move of the offseason. AA plays chess while everybody else plays checkers!

 

[kg01]

I'd also add we are 4-1 in extra innings games this year and an MLB best 12-4 since the start of last season. The Braves have figured out how to win close games late which is a big must in order to be a contender. Plus, we have to consider that Murphy has been sidelined since almost the whole month of April, Strider is done for the year, Fried just started looking like himself again, Olson and Acuna have been slumping horribly so far, and we are still looking for a 5th starter. All that considered, I'd say we are faring better than just about any other team if given those same circumstances. So far, that Lopez move looks like the move of the offseason. AA plays chess while everybody else plays checkers!

It can be argued that Acuna, Riley, and Olson have had slow or bad starts and are amidst slumps. Albies has missed time. Murphy has missed basically every game except what 2.

The fact that they've been able to continue to win in spite of all that is pretty remarkable.

 

[stinger78]

It can be argued that Acuna, Riley, and Olson have had slow or bad starts and are amidst slumps. Albies has missed time. Murphy has missed basically every game except what 2.

The fact that they've been able to continue to win in spite of all that is pretty remarkable.

Wuite remarkable. Acuna struck out in the bottom 9th last night with a ROB to end the inning. Then scored the winning run from 2nd on Riley’s hit in the bottom 10th.

 

[Golden Tornadoes]

On the flip side, Harris is having a phenomenal start to the season and I believe Ozuna is either leading the MLB in RBI's or is in the top 3. Crazy depth on this team!

 

[kg01]

What a game. Tough loss. Acuna showed how impactful he is when he gets on base. Changed the complexion of the whole game in the 7th (iirc).

Too bad they couldn't close it out.

 

[stinger78]

What a game. Tough loss. Acuna showed how impactful he is when he gets on base. Changed the complexion of the whole game in the 7th (iirc).

Too bad they couldn't close it out.

Fell asleep before the end with the Braves ahead 1-0. Can’t win them all, but hate to lose on a walk off. Minter does Minter in the 9th. He’s either good or bad, very little middle.

Fried with another shutout through 6. I get the “new thinking,” but I’ll never understand a pitcher walking away from a no-hit shutout in the 7th. That just will never compute to me.

 

[Golden Tornadoes]

Fell asleep before the end with the Braves ahead 1-0. Can’t win them all, but hate to lose on a walk off. Minter does Minter in the 9th. He’s either good or bad, very little middle.

Fried with another shutout through 6. I get the “new thinking,” but I’ll never understand a pitcher walking away from a no-hit shutout in the 7th. That just will never compute to me.

I 100% agree with your thinking on Fried, but I also think about managing innings and pitch count this early in the season. I'd rather trust one of the best bullpen's in baseball to finish off a game in April than ask Fried to go back to back 90+ pitches, 7 IP+ games that could possibly risk him in October. Does it suck? Absolutely, but pitchers are throwing harder and with more break than ever before which puts them at a higher risk for injury now than even 20 years ago. Fried especially has had injury problems with blisters the past couple of years, so if Snit thought it best to pull him out in order to keep him fresh, I can't really fault him for that. It just didn't work out this time.

Speaking of, where was Iglesias? I completely agree with Minter being Minter in the 9th. Dude can flat out pitch the 7th and 8th, but you give him the 9th and it's like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get.

 

[stinger78]

I 100% agree with your thinking on Fried, but I also think about managing innings and pitch count this early in the season. I'd rather trust one of the best bullpen's in baseball to finish off a game in April than ask Fried to go back to back 90+ pitches, 7 IP+ games that could possibly risk him in October. Does it suck? Absolutely, but pitchers are throwing harder and with more break than ever before which puts them at a higher risk for injury now than even 20 years ago. Fried especially has had injury problems with blisters the past couple of years, so if Snit thought it best to pull him out in order to keep him fresh, I can't really fault him for that. It just didn't work out this time.

Speaking of, where was Iglesias? I completely agree with Minter being Minter in the 9th. Dude can flat out pitch the 7th and 8th, but you give him the 9th and it's like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get.

Pitchers aren’t trained to go 9 innings regularly anymore. Fried hit 100 pitches through the 6th. The Mariners were working the count pretty hard, making him throw. Just sad to me that today’s iteration of pitchers makes them walk away from a no-no in the 7th. But I get it for just the reasons you mention.

 

[kg01]

I 100% agree with your thinking on Fried, but I also think about managing innings and pitch count this early in the season. I'd rather trust one of the best bullpen's in baseball to finish off a game in April than ask Fried to go back to back 90+ pitches, 7 IP+ games that could possibly risk him in October. Does it suck? Absolutely, but pitchers are throwing harder and with more break than ever before which puts them at a higher risk for injury now than even 20 years ago. Fried especially has had injury problems with blisters the past couple of years, so if Snit thought it best to pull him out in order to keep him fresh, I can't really fault him for that. It just didn't work out this time.

Speaking of, where was Iglesias? I completely agree with Minter being Minter in the 9th. Dude can flat out pitch the 7th and 8th, but you give him the 9th and it's like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get.

Broadcast said Iglesias was down since he pitched in 3 or 4 straight games or stte.

I recall someone talking about the closer role being vastly different than the other relief roles. Some can do it, some can't. Minter seems to be showing us which he is. Doesn't mean he's not really good, just means he's better suited for other roles right now.

Jimenez came up big in the 8th (iirc), after he loaded the bases, of course. Maybe if he'd had a cleaner inning, he could've rolled into the 9th. Oh well.

To me, moral of the story is the bats need to get it together. They almost got no-hit and have been lackluster a large part of the young year.

 

[stinger78]

You take a lead into the bottom of the 9th and you ought to win. Period. Just my way of thinking. The bats, silent though they were, did enough to win. This was a pitching let down.

Minter is just Minter. He’s a much better setup guy than he is closer, IMPO. You put him out there as a closer and he will do this almost as often as not.

I also think the Braves need to find and develop the next closer. Iglesias is no young dude and it seems Minter cannot be counted on.

Still, no panic, but these game outcomes cannot keep happening.

 

[stinger78]

So, I got the email today that Xfinity is not carrying Bally Sports anymore. Their contract with Diamond expired. How does this stuff happen? Geeze.

 

[Towaliga]

So, I got the email today that Xfinity is not carrying Bally Sports anymore. Their contract with Diamond expired. How does this stuff happen? Geeze.

Im not the most technologically savvy person (I didn’t go to Tech). Since we are on Xfinity, does anyone have any suggestions on how we can watch games?

 

[gtbeak]

Im not the most technologically savvy person (I didn’t go to Tech). Since we are on Xfinity, does anyone have any suggestions on how we can watch games?

Your only wired option is DirecTV. Your streaming options are Fubo and DirecTV Stream. A 3rd option is to buy an mlb.tv subscription, but only do that if you have or know how to set-up a VPN around your home network. Without that VPN the Braves' games will be blacked out for you.

 

[stinger78]

Can you do Fubo by the month? I have to think the Braves/MLB will figure out a workaround.

Wait… is Fubo free. Says it’s free on my Xbox.