Danbsy Swanson was hit in the helmet by a wild slider on Tuesday evening. Are we seeing more of this or is it our imagination?
It looked like the Atlanta Braves could exhale just a bit as their starting shortstop was moving around nearly normally after being hit in the back of the head by Rick Porcello during his first AB on Tuesday.
That said, Swanson still agreed with the decision to remove himself from the game after walking down the line to tag first base before being relieved by Charlie Culberson.
But lately, it’s been…noticeable: Ronald Acuna was hit on the elbow. Ender Inciarte on the lower forearm. Swanson in the head. Freddie Freeman in recent weeks. Kurt Suzuki… all over.
Even as I’m writing this… Preston Tucker just got hit.
Suzuki (11) and Tyler Flowers (8) lead the team – again – in HBP’s accepted. Freddie Freeman and Inciarte are next at 6 apiece.
Acuna – despite having played only in 87 of Atlanta’s 138 games – is tied with Johan Camargo and Ozzie Albies with 5.
It Could Be Worse
The Braves as a team have been hit 56 times. That was actually just 14th in all of baseball prior to Tuesday’s games.
The Padres, Twins, and Rockies have been plunked the least (29, 33, and 40 times prior to Tuesday). The Rays, Rangers, and A’s are on the painful end of the spectrum (83, 76, and 68).
83 HBP’s… that’s one in better than every other game for Rays’ hitters.
The current opponent of the Braves – the Red Sox – rank 3rd in baseball in the number of opposition batters hit by their own pitchers (64). I’m guessing that the Rays are a favorite target of theirs, given the quantity of games these teams play against one another.
The White Sox (73) and Twins (70) are the clubs dealing the most damage. The Giants (38), Rays (42), and Reds (43) have been the kindest, with Atlanta tied for 4th least (44).
The Rays should get a “turning the other cheek” award for getting hammered while batting and for avoiding contact while pitching.
In terms of individual “Ball Magnets”, Carlos Gomez – yes, he’s a Ray – gets the award: he’s been hit 20 times so far this season. Brandon Nimmo, John Jay, and Derek Dietrich (in a lot more plate appearances than Gomez) are tied for 2nd with 18.
Suzuki is merely tied for 17th on that list.
The Not-So-Good-Hands People
“Pitchers who rake” are good things. “Pitchers who plunk” … not so much.
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There are 3 major league starters with 15 HBP’s committed at this point in the season: Charlie Morton, Cole Hamels, and Jakob Junis (Royals) with 15. Lucas Giolito of the White Sox has 14.
Tuesday night’s starter for the Red Sox, Rick Porcello, just joined the leaders at 15: Swanson was his 14th victim; Tucker #15.
The Braves may choose to avoid digging in this weekend, too, as the Diamondbacks’ Zack Godly has 12… though he managed to avoid all Braves’ batters when these teams met on July 13th.
The Marlins’ Jose Urena (a recent Public Enemy #1 in Braves’ Country) has hit 11 batters. That’s tied for 7th overall.
Julio Teheran leads the Braves with 8 HBP… tied for 18th in the majors, while Kevin Gausman has 7 and Dan Winkler — in just 1/3rd as many innings as Teheran — has 4.
Overall, you’d have to suggest that the Braves’ pitchers are certainly not head-hunters by any stretch, and despite recent serious (or serious-looking) plunks, their batters are not getting nailed any more than the hitters on other clubs.
That much is good news… now the trick is to see if the Braves can get through the rest of the year while avoiding injury by this vehicle.