Atlanta Braves: Dallas Keuchel labors through rough start against the Phillies

2. Duvall and Hechavarría homers not enough to lift Braves

The offense got off to a very strong start on Tuesday night as they scored two runs in the first inning.

Unfortunately, runs would be a lot harder to come by in the later innings. The Braves had their chances with runners in scoring position but just couldn’t capitalize. Atlanta’s offense went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position from that point on.

That’s definitely not a recipe for success as many Braves fans know. You live and die by the home run.

I love the offensive output that the 2019 Atlanta Braves feature but we cannot always rely on homers to bail us out.

However, that seemed to be what needed to happen to bounce back and win Tuesday’s game. Adeiny Hechavarría decided he would try and kickstart a comeback as he went deep with a pinch-hit homer in the bottom of the 8th with 2 outs.

Adam Duvall did his best to spark another rally in the bottom of the 9th as he led off the inning with a no-doubter to the left-field seats.  I was impressed by the bat speed Duvall showed off as well.

He got his hands inside the ball and absolutely obliterated it 425 feet. The exit velocity of the ball was 112.4 mph.

That’s the type of production we need off the Atlanta Braves bench. Especially since we have lost Charlie Culberson and Johan Camargo for the season. Hechavarría, Duvall, Riley, and others are going to have to play like this come playoff time.

Our bench was a huge weakness in 2018 and we vastly improved that in the off-season. The front office did an amazing job during the 2019 season adapting and adding guys to keep the team competitive.

I have full faith in them making the right decisions for the postseason roster and carrying the right bench players.