Today's Three Things: Braves shutout by Philadelphia in series opener
Atlanta had runners on base in almost every single inning and squandered all of them.
The Atlanta Braves were shutout in game one against the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-0, in Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday night.
Here’s Today’s Three Things from the contest.
The Turning Point
Atlanta’s offensive fifth inning.
Trailing Philly 1-0, Michael Harris II singled to open the frame and was bunted over to second by Nick Allen.
That was one of the only things to go right for Atlanta in this one.
After Ronald Acuña Jr. drew a walk, Austin Riley mostly missed a belt-high sinker, grounding it to shortstop and getting Acuña thrown out at second base for the second out of the inning. Now with runners on the corners and two outs, Marcell Ozuna drew the second walk of the inning to load the bases for Matt Olson, who struck out.
Those were the only two at-bats of the game that Atlanta had with runners in scoring position in this one.
Today’s Player of the Game
Nick Allen, I guess?
Atlanta’s diminutive shortstop went just 0-2 in this one, but he’s not here for his offensive prowess.
No, Allen continued showing why the Braves were confident enough in his glove to designate Orlando Arcia for assignment last week. Allen turned a double play in the 6th inning that looked to be disasterous - with Ozzie Albies shaded up the middle for Alec Bohm, Allen beat Ozzie to the ball on a grounder up the middle, contorted his body around Ozzie and kept his speed to the bag to get the force out on Kyle Schwarber before getting off a throw to first in time to beat Bohm for the double play.
It was an incredibly athletic play that doesn’t stand out in the box score, but was instrumental in erasing a leadoff walk and keeping the Atlanta deficit at just one run.
What You’ll Be Talking About
Spencer Strider’s continued improvement.
Strider did not finish five innings, being pulled with two outs and two on in the bottom of the frame. He also struggled a bit with his command tonight, throwing just 50 strikes in his 90 pitches, and again averaged just 95.1 mph on his four-seam fastball.
And despite all that, he faced 20 batters and allowed only one hit, a double to Max Kepler in the second inning that scored Alec Bohm after he walked to open the inning.
Taking the loss after allowing just one run on one hit is tough…
What You’ll Be Talking About, Part 2
…and it shouldn’t be the norm, but it has been with this iteration of the Atlanta Braves.
This team had runners on base in eight of their nine innings, and didn’t score. Not only did they not score, they picked up only five hits, all singles, and only once got a player to second base (the aforementioned fifth inning). Atlanta stranded ten in this game, ultimately being shut out for only the first time since April 5th.
This just can’t happen. The excuse last year was that the roster was injured and a veritable M.A.S.H. unit. What’s the excuse now? Ronald Acuña Jr. and Sean Murphy are back, you’ve added a top-tier bat in Drake Baldwin, and the rest of the long-term contracts are all in place. Why can’t you score?
Also, why aren’t you trying to press the issue? Other than the Allen sacrifice bunt, Atlanta never tried to ‘manufacture’ a run. Despite getting some speedy guys on base to lead off an inning - Ozzie Albies in the 2nd & 6th, Michael Harris in the 5th - the Braves never once attempted to steal a base or advance on a dirt ball.
Waiting for the homer isn’t sustainable for this version of the roster, but that continues to be all that the Braves are doing with their at-bats.
What’s Next for the Braves?
The Braves face a tough test tomorrow night, with Zack Wheeler (6-1, 2.42) on the mound for Philadelphia. Atlanta will counter with young phenom AJ Smith-Shawver (3-2, 3.67) at 6:45 PM ET.