Huascar Ynoa Impresses as the Atlanta Braves defeat the Diamondbacks

The Atlanta Braves get a strong effort from Huascar Ynoa on the mound and at the plate to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4.

Well, that was a fun way to spend a Friday night! The Atlanta Braves defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 thanks to a strong performance from Huascar Ynoa!

The Braves got it started in the 2nd inning thanks to a bloop double from Ozzie Albies. With an xBA of .030, it was about time the second baseman caught a break at the plate.

After the Albies double, Austin Riley continues his recent success at the plate, as he walloped a two-run home run over the center-field wall to give the Braves an early 2-0 lead.

While the Braves would not score in the 3rd inning, Huascar Ynoa showed some skill at the plate as he lined a ball down the line for an impressive double — his first major league hit.

The top of the 4th inning saw Dansby Swanson provide some excellent defense.

The bottom half of the 4th would not get any easier for Luke Weaver.  Guillermo Heredia hit a double. After the Diamondbacks intentionally walked Alex Jackson, Ynoa found himself back up to the plate.

He did it again:  a 110mph single brought home Heredia to give the Braves a 3-0 lead.

Before we leave the 4th inning, I want to give a shoutout to Kole Calhoun and this young fan for giving us an early moment of the year candidate.

Kudos to Calhoun for the awesome moment.

The 5th inning would be the only blemish on Ynoa’s night as he gave up a two-run home run to the Diamondbacks catcher, Carson Kelly, making it a 3-2 game.

The Braves got the run back in the bottom half of the inning after a Dansby Swanson triple brought Marcell Ozuna around to score after a walk to make the score 4-2.

The top of the 7th inning saw the full Luke Jackson Experience in full effect. Jackson allowed a single and a walk to get the first two Diamondbacks on base.

After getting the next two hitters out, it appeared that Jackson might be able to tightrope out of danger yet again, but that would not be the case. Josh Rojas would double down the right-field line to bring the Diamondbacks back within one run.

Tyler Matzek came on to record a strikeout to end the inning and get the Braves back up to the plate.

That is where Albies provided the Braves with a much-needed insurance run and put the Braves up 5-3.

Could this be the start of an Ozzie Albies hot streak?  I hope so:  yesterday I traded Max Muncy and Jeter Downs in a dynasty league to acquire Ozzie Albies.  If both Albies and Riley are getting hot, the Braves may go on an extended run.

Matzek would return for the 8th inning and allowed Pavin Smith to lead off the inning with a double. Smith would eventually be brought home to score on a wild pitch making it 5-4.

Thankfully, that is where the scoring ended as Matzek got out of the 8th inning and turned it over to Will Smith in the 9th.

Will Smith worked an easy 1-2-3 9th inning to record his 4th save and push the Braves to 9-10.

Braves Notes

Huascar Ynoa was impressive again this season- 6 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 ER, 5 K. The Diamondbacks are not that impressive on offense, but it was a great night for the young pitcher.

Ronald Acuña Jr. went 0-4 in his return. However, he did have three hard-hit balls tonight so it would appear he is fine. I expect him to give us a big moment sometime this weekend.

The Atlanta Braves had a .298 xBA against the Diamondbacks tonight, meaning the offense was seeing the ball extremely well. One could argue that the Diamondbacks were lucky to only give up five runs.

On to Saturday!

The Braves take on the Diamondbacks again tomorrow night with a shot to get to .500!  While it has been a difficult start to the season, the Braves are still only one game out of first place.

Hopefully, the Braves get some of their injured players back and hit their stride soon. The rest of the NL East may regret not putting more distance between them and the Braves.

The Braves will have Drew Smyly facing off against Madison Bumgarner tonight at 7:20! Madbum has been one of the worst pitchers in baseball over the last year-plus, so hopefully the Braves offense can keep the hot streak alive!