Today's Three Things: Harris, Braves Bullpen Shine in Atlanta's Sweep-Clinching Win Over Philly
The Atlanta Braves secured their first sweep of the season behind their #9 hitter and a lockdown bullpen
The Atlanta Braves successfully secured their first sweep of the season by beating the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 in Citizens Bank Park on Sunday night.
Here is Today’s Three Things from the contest.
The Turning Point
The top of the 5th inning.
The Braves came into the frame down 2-1, on the board thanks to a Michael Harris II solo shot in the third inning, but they would flip the scoreboard in the frame.
Harris started the action with a leadoff single, getting a 1-1 splitter that stayed in the bottom third of the zone and lacing it to right. Ronald Acuña Jr. followed that up with a single of his own, this one a pulled liner on a 2-0 sinker. That was enough for Philly manager Rob Thomson, who pulled starter Andrew Painter for lefty Tim Mayza.
It didn’t help.
Mayza walked Drake Baldwin on five pitches, loading the bases with no outs. Harris scored on a soft grounder from Matt Olson to second - off the bat at 78 mph, it was just slow enough to prevent the Phillies from doing anything other than getting the out at second. And then things got weird.
Austin Riley jumped on a first-pitch sinker and pulled it down the third base line. Alec Bohm charged in to scoop and make the throw…but the ball just died in the wet grass. He ended up having to eat it, as yet another run scored for Atlanta.
Ozzie Albies wrapped up the scoring with a double to left, pulling a sinker over Brandon Marsh’s head in what might be the worst outfield route since Marcell Ozuna climbed the wall in St. Louis for a ball that barely made the warning track. Olson scored from second and Riley was held at third, but two consecutive strikeouts from Mayza ended the threat and gave Philadelphia some hope of getting back into it…until Atlanta’s bullpen had their say. More on that later.
Today’s Player of the Game
Let’s talk about new dad Michael Harris II.
Money Mike picked up three hits today, including a solo homer to open the third inning, and scored two runs. He singled to open the fifth, coming around to score as part of Atlanta’s three-run fifth. He then hit a one-out single in the sixth, adding a walk in the 8th inning for good measure.
In this series, despite not starting in Saturday’s game two, he finished with six hits, including two homers, scoring four runs and even walking twice. The big difference was a weekend of little chase for Harris, mostly holding off on swings unless the ball was in the zone.
I don’t know if this is related to Michael’s return to the #9 spot in the order or just a coincidence, but either way, it’s a welcome sight for Atlanta.
What You’ll Be Talking About
Atlanta’s pitching, and how Walt Weiss handled it.
Grant Holmes got the start and was a bit shaky early - he allowed Trea Turner to lead off the game with a single and then Kyle Schwarber homered to stake Philly to an early 2-0 lead. But after issuing a walk to Bryce Harper, Holmes settled, retiring fourteen of the next sixteen batters with only two singles for Philly in the interim.
Despite Holmes settling in, Weiss was aggressive with him and pulled the righthander in the bottom of the 5th. With a runner on first and Schwarber due up for a third time, Weiss went to groundball machine Aaron Bummer for the final out of the inning. Bummer eventually got it, with Austin Riley making a fantastic snag of a shot down the line and throw across the diamond to retire Phily and keep them off the board.
Weiss then went with the high leverage plan, throwing Tyler Kinley, Dylan Lee, Robert Suarez and Raisel Iglesias in the final four innings to seal the win. Iglesias looked a bit shaky in the 9th, his first game back after a minor shoulder issue forced him to miss Saturday’s win, but successfully sat down the top of the order for his 5th inning of the season.
Weiss managed the game like it was a playoff contest, but it worked. It’s clear that aggressiveness will be a hallmark of Weiss’s in-game decision making; can the bullpen and roster hold up over the course of 162?
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 win/loss.
What’s Next for the Braves?
The Braves are heading to Washington for a four game series against the Nationals. Here are the pitching matchups for the series:
Monday (6:45): Bryce Elder (2-1, 0.77) vs Jake Irvin (1-2, 6.16)
Tuesday (6:45): Reynaldo López (1-0, 2.18) vs LHP Foster Griffin (2-0, 3.05)
Wednesday (6:45): Martín Pérez (1-1, 2.21) vs Zack Littell (0-2, 7.11)
Thursday (1:05): Chris Sale (4-1, 2.79) vs Cade Cavalli (0-1, 4.12)