Today's Three Things: Braves Do Just Enough to Outlast Tigers
Atlanta won a tight series opener thanks to some clutch performances
The Atlanta Braves took down the Detroit Tigers 5-2 in Truist Park on Tuesday night to open their three-game series.
Here is Today’s Three Things from the contest.
The Turning Point
There were two of them, and they both involved pitching.
The first came in the top of the fifth, with Atlanta clinging to a narrow 2-0 lead. Starter Martín Pérez had guiled and connived his way through four scoreless innings, but ran into some trouble in what would be his final frame. Infielder Hao-Yu Lee opened the frame with a double to left, and after two quick outs, Gleyber Torres drew a walk to bring up the phenom. Prospect Kevin McGonigle, who’s already signed a long-term contract extension, quickly got up 3-0 before Pérez battled back with a sinker away for a strike before going to a front-hip sinker, thigh-high.
McGonigle didn’t miss it by much. It ended up being ‘only’ a 353-foot fly out to deep right field, ending the inning (and Pérez’s outing, it turns out).
The second opportunity for Detroit came in the top of the 8th. With slider specialist Tyler Kinley in the game, Kevin McGonigle had a one-out swinging bunt single to third and catcher Dillon Dingler doubled on a repeat-location slider, bringing up slugger Riley Greene with two in scoring position. Kinley battled him, laying four consecutive sliders all at the very bottom of the zone and getting Greene to take the final one on the corner down and away for the punchout to end the inning. Great command to place those pitches all on the black at the bottom of the zone, getting Greene to burn one of Detroit’s ABS challenges in the process.
Kinley coming through in the clutch meant that manager Walt Weiss was able to go with Aaron Bummer for the 9th instead of closer Robert Suarez, although Suarez ended up starting to warm after Wencell Pérez’s one-out, two-run homer brought Atlanta’s lead down to just three. Bummer buckled down and got out of it, though, with a groundout of Kerry Carpenter and a pop out of Gleyber Torres to seal the win for Atlanta.
Today’s Player of the Game
By a vote of 42% in the postcast, it’s Martín Pérez.
The veteran lefty made it through five scoreless innings with only two hits allowed, albeit while also walking four. It sure didn’t feel like a dominant start at the time, on account of the baserunners, but Pérez expertly mixed his superb changeup (seven whiffs) with his three fastballs and occasional curveballs to keep Detroit off balance.
He finished with ten whiffs and a 24% CSW, but it’s the soft contact that was the star of this show. He allowed six hard-hit balls, but several of those were on the ground and only one came even remotely close to leaving the ballpark.
While it’s unlikely that Pérez sticks in the rotation once Spencer Strider returns this weekend, he’s shown his value as a lefty soft contact specialist and may end up being a valuable swingman for the rest of the season.
What You’ll Be Talking About
Other than the Detroit injuries - starter Casey Mize was removed in the third with groin tightness and veteran Javy Báez was carted off with a foot injury halfway through - it’s Atlanta’s offense, both good and bad.
Ozzie Albies hit a crucial two-run insurance homer in the bottom of the 8th inning, the extra runs that allowed the Braves to go with Aaron Bummer instead of Robert Suarez in the ninth in the first place. Ronald Acuña Jr. doubled twice, scoring once and driving one run in, while Mike Yastrzemski had two hits (including a double) and also scored once and drove one run in from the #9 hole. All told, the Braves had six extra-base hits out of their nine total hits, picked up a two-out RBI, and went 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
But it wasn’t all good news tonight. Third baseman Austin Riley continued his slump, one that’s already seen him dropped to sixth in the order. He went 0-4 with three strikeouts, and several of them were ugly - on just three pitches in the 2nd (including two swings on the two pitches out of the zone and a take of the only strike thrown in the at-bat), swinging through a fastball in the 7th, and on four pitches in the 8th.
While he did get on base thanks to a throwing error on a soft tapper back to the pitcher, it’s the continuation of an ugly start to the season for Atlanta’s highest-paid player (by total contract value).
Looking for more discussion about this game?
Here’s tonight’s Postcast, with me and Locked On Braves host Jake Mastroianni, as we went live to break down the contest.
What’s Next for the Braves?
The Braves are in for a tough test, as youngster JR Ritchie (1-0, 2.57) squares off with two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal (3-2, 2.72) at 7:15 PM on BravesVision.