3 takeaways from the Braves much-needed series win over the Cubs at Wrigley

After a rough start to the trip to Chicago against the Cubs on Tuesday, the Braves were able to bounce back and take the series from the Cubs thanks, in part, to some stellar pitching by the Bravos staff.

There was plenty to like from basically every hurler that took the mound and the offense, though showing life in their 9-1 game win, was relatively quiet again despite the two wins.

Here are three takeaways from the series as the Braves complete their road trip in Pittsburgh.

AJ Smith-Shawver looks fantastic in 2024 debut

The Braves fifth starter experiment continued on Thursday, as 21-year-old AJ Smith-Shawver made his 2024 debut and looked solid amidst albeit a short outing against the Cubs.

Seeing his second year of MLB action after starting the season in Triple-A, Smith-Shawver had great command of his three-pitch mix of fastball, changeup, and curveball during his 4.1 inning outing in a 3-0 win.

He threw 87 pitches, 55 for strikes, and was nearly 50% his on-average 96 MPH fastball. It resulted in a three-hit, four-strikeout, and two walk outing to start his season.

It's definitely a promising start for Smith-Shawver, though not the end all be all either.

Elder looked good in his first few outings before reverting to his post-2023 All-Star break self. Smith-Shawver himself impressed last season before a couple of rough starts saw him sent to the minors for good.

He had earned himself an opportunity to start again but unfortunately, a Grade 2 oblique strain landed him on the 15-day IL. That injury will sideline him for approximately six to eight weeks, leaving Atlanta to make another tough decision to fill the fifth spot in the rotation.

The pitching, especially the bullpen, was lights out

The Braves bullpen had a balanced series against the Cubs after being forced to pitch 4.1 innings in the series opener on Tuesday and 4.2 in the series finale on Thursday. Wednesday saw another masterpiece from Max Fried who tossed his second complete game of the 2024 season.

Fried threw just 105 pitches over nine innings and gave up two hits, two runs (one earned), fanned nine, and walked none in a game that saw him drop his ERA from 3.81 to 3.38.

Fried has been great in May with four starts over 27.1 innings, posting a 2.63 ERA. He also has a 0.91 WHIP while striking out 23 batters.

The average exit velocity against him is nearly the best it's ever been for him, as 84.1 MPH is just barely higher than his career-best in the 2020 shortened season of 83.4.

However, his K% is the second worst it's ever been at 20.4% with only his first season in 2017 being worse at 18.2%.

That isn't necessarily a bad thing though. His strikeout rate and hard-hit rate being decreased means that Fried is pitching well to contact and will go longer in games. That has been the result in 2024 thus far.

We know that he has the strikeout stuff too, but being able to pitch to contact while also being able to put a guy down when needed is only going to make him a better pitcher.

The bullpen has also been fantastic for the Braves as well. They gave up no earned runs in nine innings of work as Daysbel Hernánedez, Jesse Chavez, A.J. Minter, and Aaron Bummer threw 4.1 innings of two-hit, two-run ball in relief of the Braves 4-3 extra innings loss in the series opener. Charlie Morton threw five innings of four-hit, two-run (one earned), and eight strikeouts in his start.

Then in the finale, Dylan Lee, Pierce Johnson, Joe Jiménez, Minter, and Raisel Iglesias combined with Smith-Shawer to pitch a shutout in the 3-0 win. Only Johnson gave up a hit in his two-thirds of an inning while Iglesias was electric, fanning two to get his 12th save of the season.

It's pitching like this has allowed the Braves to keep a solid pace despite a brutal offensive showing in the last month.