Today's Three Things: Braves break skid with Chris Sale and homers versus Brewers
The Atlanta Braves launched plenty of long balls and saw Chris Sale put up a season high in strikeouts in an easy win
The Atlanta Braves won their first game in the month of June, taking down the Milwaukee Brewers 7-1 in American Family Field on Monday night.
Here’s Today’s Three Things from the contest.
The Turning Point
Atlanta’s fifth inning on offense.
Trailing one-nothing and with one out, Ronald Acuña Jr. went out and got a 1-2 fastball up and off the plate, poking it to the opposite field for a solo shot that tied the game at one.
After rookie Drake Baldwin struck out behind him, Austin Riley doubled to center on a first pitch sinker that was supposed to be belt high and outside, but leaked back over the plate. With Milwaukee going to reliever DL Hall, a lefty who had never given up a home run to a lefty in his short major league career, Matt Olson was…undeterred.
Olson turned on a first-pitch inside fastball, launching it to center field at 106.4 mph and 417 feet to push Atlanta’s lead to 3-1. It was the team’s first hit with runners in scoring position in the game (despite getting three cracks at it in the 2nd inning).
Short of two-hole hitter Drake Baldwin, who was hitless with a walk and a strikeout, tonight’s game was a breath of fresh air for the heart of the order. Acuña, Riley, Olson, and Marcell Ozuna combined to go 7-15 with two homers, five runs scored, five RBI, and four walks to only three strikeouts.
It was a throwback performance for an offense that hasn’t looked like this on a consistent basis since their record-setting 2023 season (that may have had juiced baseballs).
Today’s Player of the Game
The veteran lefty took Milwaukee to church in this one, striking out eleven in his seven innings and even coming back out for a batter in the eighth, being at just 99 pitches (69 strikes) to open the frame.
Sale did his usual slider/fastball mastery, getting a combined 13 whiffs on the two pitches, but also got a whiff on the sinker and threw more than one single changeup for the first time since May 11th.
Somehow, this outing was his season-high in strikeouts. It was his fourth double-digit start of the season and second in a row, although all of the previous were ‘only’ ten strikeouts. It’s also only the first time Sale got a win in a double-digit strikeout game this season, somehow - he’s now 1-2 with a no decision in those four games.
Honorable mention goes to Ozzie Albies, who went 2-4 today and picked up his 1000th career hit. It’s now a 24-game on-base streak for Albies, who sits 13th on Atlanta’s all-time list for extra-base hits.
What You’ll Be Talking About
The bullpen shuffle.
Raisel Iglesias relieved Sale for the 8th inning, getting the call after Sale walked #9 hitter Brice Turang on four straight pitches. Iggy looked like his old self, getting through the inning with two strikeouts on just eight pitches. He still isn’t throwing the slider, going four-seam fastball/sinker/changeup, but got three whiffs and mostly threw everything where it should be - four-seamers up, changeups and sinkers mostly down, and attacked all three top-of-the-order hitters.
Dylan Lee then came out for the 9th and got two strikeouts of his own, topping out at 95.8 mph with his fastball and getting six whiffs on just seven swings and fifteen pitches. Despite it not being a save situation, I’m thinking 9th inning adrenaline played a role here - Lee’s fastball velocity was 1.2 mph above his season high, and the 87 mph slider saw an even larger jump, 1.4 mph.
I’d honestly be down for Lee to get some save opportunities going forward. He logged his first career save in April, pitching the 10th inning of a 8-7 win on the road in Arizona. He should get another.
What’s Next for the Braves?
Atlanta’s back in action tomorrow night with an opportunity to lock down their first series win since mid-May in Boston against the Red Sox. Grant Holmes (3-4, 3.99) is on the mound opposite Quinn Priester (3-2, 3.88) at 7:40 PM ET.