Matt Olson continued to terrorize the Grapefruit League for the Atlanta Braves. His two home runs on the day put the Braves ahead early and thanks to another strong start from Jared Shuster, the Braves were able to take down the Boston Red Sox in convincing fashion.
Jared Shuster got the start for the Braves on Friday and he flat out shoved. The first inning was a bit of an adventure as he had the bases loaded with two outs after a long single from Adam Duvall, a hit by pitch, and a walk. However, he settled down and got the strike out to get out of the jam.
Matt Olson is having himself quite the spring training and this was probably his best game so far. He hit a solo home run in the first inning and after an RBI single from Ozzie Albies in the fifth inning, Olson connected for ANOTHER home run to give the Braves a 4-0 lead. Overall, it was a great day for Shuster as he threw four scoreless innings while giving up three hits and a walk while striking out seven batters.
Have a day, @mattolson21! #BravesST pic.twitter.com/w6kk7dBzpa
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) March 17, 2023
Once the minor leaguers started subbing in for the every day guys, the Braves offense kept plugging along. Andrew Moritz singled to bring home Beau Philip to make it a 5-0 lead in the seventh. The Braves had a chance to blow the game open even more as they had the bases loaded with two out aftera single from Braden Shewmake, but a line out ended the threat. In the eighth, Mitchell Tolman hit a solo homer to lead things off and Greyson Jenista immediately followed with one of his own to go back to back.
Things got better from there as a RBI single from Joe Hudson gave the Braves ann 8-0 lead. It was almost more as the Braves had runners on second and third after a double off the bat of Stephen Paolini, but a fly out and a line out after the Red Sox brought in a pitcher that could, you know, get guys out.
On the pitching side, the Braves navigated the middle innings with difficulty as Nick Anderson pitched two scoreless innings and Michael Tonkin added a scoreless frame of his own. Jackson Stephens had a bit of an adventure in the eighth inning as he had runners on second and third, but he picked up the strikeout to end the threat and maintain the shutout and Danny Young finished it out in the ninth.
Next up on the Braves 2023 Spring Training Schedule
The Braves play one of the late games tomorrow as they take on the Phillies at 6:05 PM EST. Dylan Dodd is expected to start the game which is quite relevant given the competition the Braves have for the fifth spot in the rotation at the moment.