Spencer Strider took the mound at Truist Park on Friday night looking to extend the Braves winning streak to four games. Atlanta kicked off Alumni Weekend at the ballpark by recognizing some of the great players that have contributed to their historic franchise over the years.
Alex Cobb was in pursuit of raining on the Braves' parade and slowing down the best offense in baseball.
Game Summary
Strider picked up right where he left off in his last start. It only took a total of ten pitches for him to retire the side in order in the top of the first inning.
The Atlanta offense kept their stride early on as well. Back to back singles from Ronald Acuna Jr. and Michael Harris II in the bottom half of the first set up runners on the corners for the middle of the Braves' lineup.
Austin Riley struck out and Matt Olson hit a ground ball that looked to get the Giants out of the inning. The grounder was bobbled and ended up being a fielder's choice allowing a run to score. This kept the inning alive and Marcell Ozuna pushed his hitting streak to 15 games.
Eddie Rosario lined a ball up the middle to score Olson from 2nd, giving the Braves a 2-0 lead.
On the board in the first 🫡#ForTheA pic.twitter.com/JiiPQRGiqs
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 18, 2023
After Strider struckout the side in the top half of the 2nd, Atlanta added to their lead. With 2 outs in the inning, Harris tripled and Riley doubled right behind him, pushing the home team's advantage to 3-0.
It took until the 4th inning before San Fransico had their first baserunner. Strider walked the leadoff man and later in the inning surrendered the Giant's first hit. Strider struck out his eighth batter of the game with runners on the corner to end the inning and end the San Fransico threat.
With runners on the corners and 2 outs in the bottom of the 6th, Alex Cobb was pulled from the game. Cobb went 5.2 innings, giving up 8 hits and 3 earned runs in 103 pitches.
Michael Harris II came to the plate to face Scott Alexander. He continued his perfect night getting his fourth hit of the game and driving in the Braves' fourth run. Harris stole second and Riley was intentionally walked to load the bases for Matt Olson to set up a lefty-lefty matchup.
The first pitch he saw was caught on the warning track just a few feet from a grand slam. Atlanta took a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the 6th.
Spencer Strider held the Giants scoreless again in the 7th inning, making it the 25th consecutive inning the Braves pitching staff had not allowed a run. Strider was near perfection on Friday across 7 innings. He only allowed one hit, one walk and struck out 10.
👨🏻👨🏻👨🏻@SpencerSTRIDer | #ForTheA pic.twitter.com/McCJsRzE7O
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 19, 2023
The Braves loaded the bases for the second consecutive inning, this time against their old friend Luke Jackson in the bottom half of the 7th for Ronald Acuna Jr. with 2 outs.
Acuna struck out looking and left the bases loaded. Just like he did many times in an Atlanta uniform, Jackson created his own mess and escaped with no harm.
Joe Jimenez entered the game on the mound for the Braves in the 8th inning to make his 45th appearance of the season. Jimenez created a jam of his own after hitting the leadoff man with a pitch, followed by a single.
Brandon Crawford came to the plate with runners on first and second and nobody out. Crawford struck out and the next batter flew out. Jimenez was pulled from the game for A.J. Minter with the Giants lineup card turning over to the top of their order.
Austin Slater pinch hit for LaMonte Wade Jr. to avoid the lefty-lefty matchup. Slater lined out to center field to end the inning and Minter was able to perserve the Braves' shutout.
Atlanta's closer Raisel Iglesias came in to close the door for the Braves in the 9th. With a 4-0 lead, it was not a save situation but with the off day yesterday, Iglesias was rested and ready to go.
Before he threw his first pitch, things got interesting. Ronald Acuna Jr. was forced to get a new glove due to an excessive amount of pine tar. Not very often do you see position players get questioned for sticky subtances. This unique situation delayed the game for a few minutes but couldn't slow down Atlanta pitching.
Iglesias retired the side in order to cap off Atlanta's 4-0 victory and complete their third consecutive shutout.
Pitchers of Record
W: ATL: Spencer Strider (7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K's)
L: SF: Alex Cobb (5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's)
Homeruns
Surprisingly, none.
Braves Bullpen
Joe Jimenez: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
A.J. Minter: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Raisel Iglesias: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K's
Next Game
August 19th, 2023 vs. SF 7:20 p.m. ET