Atlanta Braves Dropped By Rays 5-3
Fresh off of a three game sweep of the Miami Marlins, the Atlanta Braves returned home to take on the Tampa Bay Rays. The three game winning streak put Atlanta at 18-19 on the young season, so a win against the Rays could have put them back at .500 after 38 games.
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Everyone’s favorite rookie, fireballer, Mike Foltynewicz, took the mound hoping to send the Braves over that hump. His last two outings were solid but unspectacular. He showed flashes of brilliance, but a lack of command, as he got deeper into the game. Could he settle down in his fourth start of the season?
The Rays got on the board early, securing a 1-0 lead after the first inning. Leadoff hitter Kevin Kiermaier flipped a ball into right field then used his exceptional speed to leg out a triple. Folty made a good pitch and Kiermaier barely made contact, most players would have likely been held to first on a ball hit to that area of the field, but Kiermaier can run like the wind. Steven Souza followed that up with an RBI single off the outstretched glove of Pedro Ciriaco to score Kiermaier. Sometimes baseball is unfair.
Atlanta would not stay down for very long. Nick Markakis led off the bottom of the 2nd inning with a walk, then Todd Cunningham would send a ball into the rightfield corner for a double. After A.J. Pierzynski was hit by a pitch, the bases would be loaded with no outs as Andrelton Simmons stepped to the plate.
Rays starting pitcher Erasmo Ramirez walked Simmons after a long at-bat, bringing Nick Marakakis home and tying the game 1-1. Following the walk, Cameron Maybin singled to score Todd Cunningham giving the Braves a 2-1 lead. The Braves would get another run on a Jace Peterson RBI groundout, ending the inning with a 3-1 edge. All things considered, it could have been much worse and Ramirez did well to limit the damage.
The very next inning, Steven Souza made it known that he liked being a thorn in Foltynewicz’s side. Souza singled, stole second, and then scored on an Evan Longoria single bringing the Rays deficit back to one run. In the top of the 4th inning Asdrubal Cabrera made it a tie game by crushing a solo homerun into the right field seats.
Foltynewicz’s command issues would come back to bite him in the top of the 5th inning. After striking out the first two batters of the inning, Folty walked James Loney, and then allowed him to reach second base on a wild pitch. Logan Forsythe’s ensuing RBI single then gave the Rays a 4-3 lead. To make matters worse, David DeJesus would double to score Forsythe stretching that Tampa lead to 5-3.
That inning would be the final frame of the night for Foltynewicz. Folty went 5 innings and allowed 5 runs on 8 hits, while striking out 7 and walking 1. As he is beginning to see, the margin for error in the MLB is razor thin. He continues to struggle with command. Whether he’s missing in or out of the zone, it is obviously a problem. Still, his stuff is still electric and with a rebuild in progress, the Braves will not mind seeing him work out the kinks this season.
Trailing 5-3 in the 9th Atlanta would attempt to stage a comeback, but Brad Boxberger retired the side in order to secure a victory for Tampa Bay.
The Braves could only muster four hits throughout the game and left six runners on base. The series continues tomorrow night with Williams Perez taking on Jake Odorizzi.
Notable Performers
Todd Cunningham: 1-for-3, 1 R
A.J. Pierzynski: 1-for-3, 1 R
Cameron Maybin: 1-for-2, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Mike Foltynewicz: 5 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 7 S0, 1 BB