3 Takeaways from Atlanta Braves’ homer-friendly win over Phillies

The Atlanta Braves cranked four homer runs on Saturday including a grand one in the third from Ozzie Albies to beat the Phillies 15-7

The game went from being almost perfect for the Atlanta Braves during the first half but then took a slight turn in the second half and became a closer game than expected rather than a blowout. After a reawakening of their offense Friday night in a 9-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, the Atlanta Braves kept the train rolling on Saturday.

Not to mention, the Braves brought back those super nice 70’s-era jerseys against the Phillies throwbacks. Those Philly burgundy jerseys are nice but just not as nice as the Braves throwback jerseys though.

The Phillies manager Gabe Kapler may or may not have thrown in the white towel early during Friday’s game when he oddly chose to leave struggling reliever Cole Irvin in the game after allowing four runs for a Braves 9-1 lead at the time.

This time around, he did make a pitching change in the third after bases were loaded and the Braves holding a 7-1 lead off Zach Eflin. However, that didn’t stop the Braves who continued adding runs thanks to an Ozzie Albies grand slam (the fourth in his career) off reliever Ranger Suarez.

The offense then continued consistently for the rest of the game but it was an overall good night for starter Max Fried as well after missing a start due to a blister. Fried not only handled the mound but also handled the bat, reaching base four times including two singles! He had a bit of a slip-up in the sixth inning but still qualified for the win for an overall impressive outing.

With that being said these are the three takeaways from another fun game for the Braves.

3. Adam Duvall Returns

When Adam Duvall was acquired by the Atlanta Braves last season, just about no one expected the performance he gave. However it was understandable due to the lack of consistent playing time, being on a new team and having heavy expectations –pretty much everything Freddie Freeman said back in March.

That plus his track record of being known for hitting A LOT of homers and playing solid defense was the reason the Braves didn’t give up on him. After being sent down to AAA following spring, Duvall seemed to have found his form again, launching 29 home runs, which is now the Gwinnett’s single season home run record. Why he wasn’t called up earlier still confuses me though.

With Nick Markakis landing on the DL, some already decided the Braves should alter their trade deadline plans and get some position players/bats. However, if what the Braves got last night is what they’ll continue to get from Duvall, I think they’ll be just fine.

In his return to the club, Duvall went 3-5 including a solo home run in the fourth. Plans could still change for the Braves but Saturday’s game continued to showcase that the Braves still need more consistent pitching.

2. Why Are Braves Starters Faltering?

The Braves young arms are very talented, we all know that, but is the majors slowly catching up to them a bit similar to how it’s caught up to Austin Riley, except at a different pace.

So far for this series, the Braves have sent out Mike Soroka and Max Fried, and both have not been able to “finish” their outings after cruising for most of their start. Both had overall good games, pitching lights out against the Phillies in the beginning but kind of faltered in the end.

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During Soroka’s start Friday, he pitched four scoreless innings with no walks but did give up five hits prior to the fifth. Soroka left in the fifth inning after loading the bases with a walk and having allowed a run off three hits.

He did strike out two in the inning and probably could have gotten the final out. However, Brian Snitker decided to pull him following the walk, thus Soroka didn’t qualify for the win.

For Saturday, Fried allowed a run in the second but did struck out six. He was taken out during the sixth inning when he gave up a two-run homer to J.T. Realmuto and then another two-run homer to Sean Rodriguez.

Soroka ended on 88 pitches thrown while Fried ended on 89 pitches. Soroka seemed to had more trouble while having to throw 37 pitches in the fifth.

It could be just two outings where they kind of got tired in the end but this is something to keep an eye on if it continues.

1. The Braves Offense Is On Fire This Series

Heading into the series, the Braves offense seemed to have disappeared. In their last nine games/three series prior to this series, they lost six games. They lost two of those series (Royals and Brewers) and managed to split the other with the Nationals. Of those six losses, three of them were games where the offense only scored one run or less.

That changed so far for this series as we saw the offensive juggernaut that the Braves were prior to the All-Star break. Game one was won 9-2 while this game was 15-7, totaling to the Braves outscoring the Phillies 24-9. Also in those two games, the Braves had five multi-run innings which is more like what they are usually known for this season: consistent offense up and down the lineup.

Now they will look to sweep the Phillies on Sunday behind Kevin Gausman, who’s probably hoping the Braves still have something left in their arsenal.