After a very disappointing 3 game stretch for the Braves in which the team lost 3 very winnable games (only the 2nd time this season the Braves lost 3 straight games), the Braves look to bounce back against the Rockies and capitalize in a series in which the Mets play the Dodgers.
With last week being one of the most disappointing weeks for the Atlanta Braves, in which the team squandered multiple opportunities to gain ground on the Mets, the Braves looked to starter Kyle Wright to get them back on track and he did not disappoint.
Similar to his last start against the Pirates, Kyle Wright had no problem slicing through the Rockies lineup multiple times, throwing 7 shutout innings once again.
Kyle Wright tallied 6 strikeouts through his 7 innings Wednesday, allowing only 5 hits in what was a very stress-free outing.
The second inning was the only time there was any sort of pressure for Kyle: runners reached second and third before he got out of the inning without allowing a run.
The offense for the Braves was a little more lethargic than Kyle Wright was, however.
Atlanta was able to get it going early in the first with an Austin Riley 2-run home run to right field, scoring himself and Dansby Swanson, who had a pair of walks on the night. The offense wasn’t quite done there: William Contreras followed the 2-run blast with a groundball single with 2 outs.
Michael Harris, who has been moving around in the lineup as of late — this time to the 6th spot — continued his recent tear at the plate with a line drive double down the right field line.
The Braves’ aggressive base running failed them this time around, unfortunately, as William Contreras was thrown out at home trying to score from first base, which ended the first inning.
After that first inning, the Braves bats were very quiet, not generating much of anything outside of a few hits or a walk.
That changed in the 5th inning, when Ronald Acuña, who has sat out the past few games with knee soreness, blasted a 444-foot home run to center field in classic Ronald fashion.
After the game, Ronald said he still felt a great bit of pain in his knee which does not bode well for the Braves, but it’s good to see he can still blast home runs despite the pain.
The homer was the last run the Braves scored on Wednesday, as the offense was only able to get 1 more hit (via William Contreras) for the rest of the game.
A.J. Minter was brought in as the Braves 8th inning guy and had a much-needed solid outing, considering the skid he and the rest of the Atlanta bullpen have been on over the past week. Minter threw only 8 pitches and struck out 2 batters during his 1 inning appearance.
Going into the 9th inning 3-0, the Braves put in their closer Kenley Jansen to get the save and redeem himself after an outing against the Cardinals I’m sure he wishes he could redo.
Kenley got 2 outs quickly with only 6 pitches, one via strikeout. Despite his quick work getting the first 2 outs, Kenley walked the next batter.
The walk brought up rookie Michael Toglia who made his MLB debut yesterday and continued his fun weekend with his first ever major league home run, bringing the Rockies within just 1 run of the Braves.
Despite the late comeback from the Rockies, Kenley got a groundout to Dansby Swanson to end the game.
After the 3-game skid the Braves had this past weekend, the team desperately needed a win and fortunately got it. Unfortunately for the Braves, the Mets were able to hold on to their lead over the Dodgers, so the Braves remain 3 games behind Los Angeles.
Atlanta will play the final game of the series against the Rockies Thursday at 6:20. Spencer Strider is expected to face Chad Kuhl.