Today's Three Things: Braves Win Series Over Pirates With Big Dom Smith Moments
The Atlanta Braves got a big homer from Dominic Smith and stole some runs from the Pirates
The Atlanta Braves took down the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3 in Truist Park on Saturday night to win the series and set themselves up for a sweep.
Here is Today’s Three Things from the contest.
The Turning Point
It sure felt like the bottom of the fifth.
The first half of the game was a back-and-forth affair - two Atlanta runs in the first inning and another in the third, before the Pirates tied it up with two in the fourth and one in the fifth.
So as they got to their third ABs of the game off of Pittsburgh starter Braxton Ashcraft, the top of the Braves order got to work.
Ronald Acuña Jr. singled on an inside sinker to left, advancing to 2nd on a one-out Matt Olson line drive. The duo then advanced 90 feet on a double steal.
Let me repeat that: MATTHEW KENT OLSON STOLE A BASE.
Here’s video proof:
Ozzie Albies then scored Ronald on a sacrifice fly to right, with Olson moving up to third. That was somewhat unnecessary, with Dominic Smith hitting one of the most improbable homers I’ve seen in quite some time.
Braxton Ashcraft threw him a 97.5 mph fastball, on the upper rail and away. With a less-than-full swing, coming in at just 64.6 mph, Smith got it in the air at 93.4 mph to the opposite field and just tucked it inside the foul pole.
I’ve watched a lot of baseball in my life, but I can’t remember many times when a home run was hit that was slower than the pitch that was thrown.
After the inning ended, which also ended the outing of Braxton Ashcraft (6 ER on 9 H), Pittsburgh only once got a runner past second and never got them in.
Today’s Player of the Game
Since there was no Postcast, I let the Braves Today Discord vote, and it’s going to Dominic Smith.
Dominic started off hot, hitting four homers in his first 50 plate appearances as a member of the Braves. But after missing out on regular starts while Michael Harris II was nursing his left quad, Dom somewhat came back to earth - since May 17th, he was hitting just .213/.255/.340 with one home run entering tonight’s game.
Tonight’s two-hit performance was credited to his ability to perform even with sporadic playing time, with Smith telling reporters (including MLB.com) that as a veteran, he knows how to be prepared and take advantage of his opportunities. The fact that he enjoys the organization only helps things.
“I put a lot of work in, so I’m very confident in my game,” Smith said. “I’m just getting the freedom to play and it’s a great group of guys in that locker room who not only want to win, but they want to go out and compete at a high level. You feed off of that, and it’s fun.”
He added a late walk in this one, bringing his line to .309/.345/.485 with six homers and 28 RBI.
What You’ll Be Talking About
With all due respect to the good offensive performance by the top of the order, and doing it against a tough starter in Braxton Ashcraft to boot, I want to talk about Spencer Strider.
And not in a good, “I think he’s about to turn a corner” way.
Strider pitched five innings tonight, allowing three runs on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts. It took him 84 pitches, only 49 of which were strikes.
The results were…okay. I’m concerned about the process.
Strider induced 43 swings tonight, but picked up only six whiffs, and NONE on 20 swings against the fastball. He had just 6 called strikes, as well, so his 14% CSW is just as poor as his 14% whiff rate. Adding to the…concern? Poor performance? His four-seam fastball averaged only 94.8 mph, half a mph below his season average, and maxed out at just 96.7.
I don’t know what to think about Strider, at this point, other than the smart position is probably to not count on his as one of your three frontline starters for the postseason. If he gets there and is one, great, but that can’t be Plan A, B, or C at this point.
What’s Next for the Braves?
The Braves are in position to sweep the series tomorrow afternoon in Truist Park, with Bryce Elder (2-6, 4.89) getting the ball opposite Bubba Chandler (2-6, 4.89) at 1:35 PM ET.