What will this series against the Red Sox tell us about the Atlanta Braves?
This 3-game series vs the Red Sox concludes today for Atlanta. What will the result of this series tell us about the Atlanta Braves as a team?
Despite the 2 losses already to Boston, the Atlanta Braves have shown promise by sticking in the game until the going gets tough.
The Atlanta Braves have struggled to drive in runners in scoring position, and have struggled to pitch efficiently to Boston hitters. Does this mean the Braves are supposed to pitch well against Boston? No, not really. The Red Sox are the best team in baseball. To expect the Braves to pummel the Sox is unrealistic. But to expect the Braves to have some success is absolutely reasonable.
Does success vs. the Red Sox mean getting wins?
Wins would be nice, but what we need to pay more attention to are all of the small things that happen during these games such as pitchers getting out of jams, hitters driving in runners, pitchers limiting walks or surrendering too many walks, young player performances, and more. So no, wins do not equal success this series.
But wins are crucial at this point in the season as the Braves’ lead in the NL East was cut to 3 games after last night’s loss to Boston. However, I don’t think the wins and losses during this series count from a team performance perspective. They obviously count in the season standings, but not from an evaluation standpoint.
What happened during Game 1?
The Braves were neck and neck with the Red Sox during game 1 of the series until the 5th inning. This is when Touki Toussaint began to falter against the Red Sox by giving up back-to-back-to-back doubles to the Sox.
But wait, the 22-year-old rookie making his 2nd career big league start had the Red Sox hitless through the first 4 innings of the game. Now that is something to be impressed about. Touki Toussaint gave up 3 runs in the 5th inning before getting pulled, but his performance leading up to the 5th inning was phenomenal for someone making his 2nd career big league start.
The offense of the Atlanta Braves had plenty of opportunities to score, and it showed on the statistics page by the Braves leaving 26 runners on base and only scoring 2 runs all game. There was more than one occasion where the Braves left the sacks full to end an inning and missed out on key opportunities to put up points against Boston. The Braves ended the 1st, 4th, and 7th innings with the bases loaded, right there making up for 34% of the runners left on base.
The Braves’ main offensive threat, Ronald Acuña, was 0-5 with 3K’s and did not get on base at all during the game. Acuña was the only Brave that was hitless during this game. It’s difficult to criticize a 20 year old rookie for not getting on base like he is used to doing, especially against the best team in baseball. But Acuña did not perform like the Braves needed him to. He did not provide as much of a spark at the top of the lineup as he should have, and that is okay!
What happened during Game 2?
The story was more of the same this time except the Braves actually had a lead over the Red Sox for a few innings at the start. Kurt Suzuki hit an opposite field home run in the 2nd inning to give the Braves a 1-0 lead. When the 5th inning came rolling around, Sean Newcomb began walking batters left and right, and eventually walked a batter with the bases loaded to give Boston their first run of the game. Through 4.1 IP, Newk gave up 5 BB’s, 4 H’s, and 3 R’s. The command wasn’t there like it should have been. Newcomb wasn’t himself during this game, and that is okay as well because he is a huge reason the Braves are where they are today!
Every team has flaws, and the pitching flaws the Braves possess showed during Game 2 from Newk’s 5 walks to Luke Jackson who gave up 2 walks and and 2 additional runs later on during the game.
Something positive to take away from Game 2 is the MLB Debut of #2 prospect Kyle Wright. Wright shut down the Red Sox during the 7th and 8th innings of the game pitching 2 full innings throwing 21 pitches, 13 for strikes, only 1 BB and 2 K’s. Just check out this work by Rob Friedman, better known as Pitching Ninja on Twitter on Wright’s pitching!
What fortune does Game 3 hold for the Braves?
Even though the series is already lost, the Atlanta Braves are going to try and at least take 1 game of this series to not only prove they can beat the Red Sox, but to maintain their lead in the NL East.
Mike Foltynewicz has the mound vs the Red Sox, and the last time Folty took the mound vs Boston (May 27, 2018), he pitched 7 innings of 3 hit, 1 run ball and helped lead the Braves to a 7-1 victory at Fenway Park. For the Braves sake, hopefully Folty can be just as dominant today.
But Game 3 will tell us what kind of team the young Braves are made of. The Red Sox have beaten up on the Braves, and it’s time for the Braves to return the favor. Can the Braves persevere and beat the Red Sox? Can Folty limit his walks? Can the young players step up and take command of the game? Game 3 will help solidify what this Braves team is capable of. Win or lose, the Braves have something to prove in Game 3.
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The Braves have to opportunity to not only beat the Red Sox, but to do so while the games are suspenseful and mean something: during September. If the Braves can pull out a win in Game 3, I think it will tell us that the young Braves may struggle during adversity, but they always have the ability to turn around and fight back which is a key component to being a successful playoff team.
At the end of the day, I think this series will tell us whether the Braves are postseason ready or not. If they are not, that doesn’t mean that they won’t have success in the postseason this year assuming they get there. If the season ended today, the Braves would play a 5 game NLDS against the Dodgers. Could the Braves win this? Possibly. Would they win? According to percentages and odds, the answer is no, but that doesn’t mean that the Braves wouldn’t have fun doing it. Any postseason experience this year could be considered the Braves making a statement to the rest of baseball that they are here to stay, and that they aren’t going anywhere.
Next. Atlanta Braves: 2018 Danville Braves season review. dark
No matter what way you look at it, the 2018 season for the Atlanta Braves has been and will be a huge success.