3 Takeaways as Atlanta Braves waste a great start from Dallas Keuchel
By Steven Teal
The Atlanta Braves hoped to extend their lead over the Phillies in the division on Tuesday evening. Unfortunately, they ran into a dominant Aaron Nola and dropped Game 1 of the series.
The Atlanta Braves started their final homestand of the first half of the 2019 season fresh off of a 6-4 road trip.
The Braves offense had one of the best months you could have in the month of June. The team carried a .277 batting average with 56 home runs and 181 RBI during the month.
That was the #Braves 56th homer in the month of June...a new franchise record for a calendar month. The previous record was held by the 2003 club in May.
— Kevin McAlpin (@KevinMcAlpin) June 30, 2019
The Atlanta offense has hit at least one home run in 26 of 28 games this month.@680TheFan https://t.co/zhYR5SsWKI
Those 56 homers set a new franchise record for the Braves in a calendar month since the 2003 squad hit 55 of them in the month of May. The Braves offense even scored more runs in the month of June (187) than any other team in franchise history. The most runs scored in June used to be held by the 1976 Atlanta Braves with 159 runs scored.
It’s safe to say that this offense was locked in and wasn’t afraid to face anyone on the mound.
However, the Braves lethal offense was held in check on Tuesday evening as they hosted Aaron Nola and the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Braves had Dallas Keuchel on the mound tonight for his SunTrust Park debut and he surely didn’t disappoint. Keuchel pitched 7 strong innings of 5 hit, 2 run ball and kept the Braves in the game. Unfortunately, the offense provided zero support as they faced a tough customer in Aaron Nola.
Nola shut out the Braves offense over 8 innings allowing just 4 hits and striking out 8 batters. He commanded the strike zone all night and seemed to have every hitter off balance. That was the best performance I’ve seen him have against Atlanta so far in 2019.
Let’s get into 3 takeaways from Tuesday evening’s loss.