Preview: Kolby Allard looks to lead Atlanta to their 10th consecutive victory on Independence Day
The Atlanta Braves former top prospect, Kolby Allard, was phenomenal in his last start for the Braves as he struck out eight batters in 4.2 innings.
By Steven Teal
The Atlanta Braves are currently riding a nine-game winning streak ahead of game two of their series with the Cleveland Guardians.
Atlanta's offense has been red-hot through the month of June and carried that into the early days of July. They have a .271 team average and have hit 161 home runs so far this season which is the most in all of baseball so far in 2023.
Their pitching hasn't been too shabby either as they have the best ERA in the National League. The team's current ERA is 3.64 through 748.1 innings pitched. The bullpen which struggled a bit early on this season has a collective ERA of 3.46 through 301.1 innings pitched and has 29 saves.
While the team didn't score tons of runs during Monday's 4-2 win over the Guardians, they continued their home run barrage with 3 of them. The pitching staff did a phenomenal job as well holding Cleveland to just two runs the entire night.
Starters for Braves at Guardians Game Two
Kolby Allard makes his second start for Atlanta in 2023 after a surprisingly great start against the Minnesota Twins. Allard tossed 4.2 innings allowing no runs on three hits with one walk and eight strikeouts.
No one expected Allard to turn in that kind of performance as he's struggled a bit in his MLB career as he carries a 5.95 career ERA over 6 seasons. His career minor league ERA, however, sits at 3.41 over 108 games.
It was nice to see Allard pitch such a great game as Atlanta needs the gaps left by Wright and Fried to be filled with quality innings. Hopefully, Allard can continue that success during tonight's start against Cleveland.
Allard will pitch against Shane Bieber who has long been one of the best pitchers in baseball. The 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner currently has a 3.48 ERA over 17 games so far. His last start came against the Royals and he completed 6 innings of work with no runs allowed, two hits, one walk, and eight strikeouts.
Atlanta's offense will definitely have their work cut out for them as Bieber is still one of the best pitchers in the league. Bieber has pitched much better at home than on the road. He has a 2.51 ERA in 43 innings at Progressive Field in 2023 versus his road ERA which sits at 4.14 on the season.
How to watch Braves at Guardians
Where and when: Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH at 7:10 PM EST
Watch: Bally Sports South
Listen: 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan