3 Takeaways as Atlanta Braves waste a great start from Dallas Keuchel
By Steven Teal
1. Keuchel Looked Sharp in His SunTrust Park Debut
Atlanta Braves fans have long awaited their opportunity to see the former AL Cy Young award winner pitch at home. They finally got their wish on Tuesday night as Dallas Keuchel took to the mound for the third time in 2019.
Keuchel had some foot traffic Tuesday but always seemed to find a way to work himself out of it, thanks to his impressive ground ball rate. According to FanGraphs, Keuchel’s groundball rate sits at 60% and that’s helped him escape some tough spots so far.
The southpaw found a lot of success commanding his fastball and seemed to be much more comfortable on the mound than in his previous two starts.
Most importantly, his breaking ball command was excellent on Tuesday night. It seemed that he had a good feel for his changeup and slider throughout the entire game and was able to go to it when he needed an out.
The one blemish on Keuchel was when he missed location on a slider away to Jay Bruce. The Phillies outfielder was able to reach a slider for a 2-run double to right field. Other than that, Keuchel was able to keep the Phillies offense at bay.
“I was able to get through seven (innings). That is kind of the benchmark for me. I don’t feel whole unless I get through seven-plus innings.”
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) July 3, 2019
— Dallas Keuchel walks through his start and the importance of going deeper into games. #Braves | #ChopOn pic.twitter.com/EZLTtGwPXA
Keuchel had a few deep counts tonight due to some borderline calls on the corners of the plate not going his way but was able to settle in and give the Braves 7 great innings.
He finished Tuesday’s game with a line of 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, and 3 K. This was definitely his best start of the season so far and something for fans to look forward to in the second half of the season.
I’ll take this kind of start each and every night from Keuchel. You can’t ask for more than allowing just 2 runs across 7 innings of work.
It was unfortunate that the offense couldn’t give him any support but they had their hands full with Aaron Nola. I expect that the Braves offense will perform much better the next time Dallas takes the bump for Atlanta.
Keuchel is a veteran and has a gameplan ready each and every time he takes the mound. He’s only going to get better and the Atlanta Braves are lucky to have him on their side as they look to repeat as division champs in the NL East.