What To Watch For During Saturday's Games
Instead of listing three items for each game, we just condensed the list to give you three bits to keep an eye on between both games.
1. Iron-man Mentality
At this point, just about any Braves fan could fill out the lineup card for Brian Snitker. The only question would be who is doing the catching since Travis d'Arnaud and Sean Murphy platoon.
The regular season is winding down and the Braves are playing a rebuilding Mets team whose only motive at the moment is to spoil Atlanta's success. With a doubleheader on Saturday, this is an ideal time to give some regular starters some rest but don't be surprised if it doesn't happen.
Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, and Matt Olson play every game. They do not want it any other way. Now it is possible that Brian Snitker makes an executive decision to get these players some rest tomorrow but it may be more shocking if he does.
2. Allan Winans Chance to Prove Himself
Allan Winans will toe a major league mound for the second time in his career on Saturday night. When Winans made his MLB debut, the trade deadline was just around the corner. Being a 27-year-old rookie (28 as of Thursday), he had to have some questions about his future with the organization.
Some of those questions have already been answered since he is still in a Braves uniform. Now he has control over other questions like "Does he belong in the show?"
Last time out against the NL Central-leading Brewers, Winans went 4.1 innings giving up 2 earned runs and striking out 5.
Look for Winans to find a way to go deeper into the game tomorrow against a struggling Mets team and show that he should be in the conversation for a playoff roster spot in a couple of months.
3. Braves Offense
in 2023, the Braves have been known for the long ball. Last night they only hit one solo homerun but still put a 7 in the run column.
This is an encouraging sign for an offense that has been struggling to capitalize on opportunities as of late. Watching hitters 1-9 in the lineup contribute has to be a nightmare of an opposition. Look for more of the same tomorrow from Atlanta's offense but there just may be one person who stands out.
Michael Harris II has been on an absolute tear in the second half of the season. He was only 1-4 on Friday but the balls he put in play were squared up and it was easy to tell by his swing, he is seeing the ball well. Even though he is facing a left-handed pitcher in game one, expect some big things from Harris on Saturday.