Kyle Wright made his first start of the 2023 season for the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday evening. Unfortunately for Kyle, it was a tough night for the right-hander as he struggled to find consistency with his command. He just couldn't put batters away the way he'd have liked to.
The Reds were able to tag Wright for four runs in just three innings. Atlanta found themselves in a 4-1 deficit early on in the game. Kyle Wright ended his night after three innings allowing four earned runs on four hits while issuing four walks and striking out three batters.
Not at all what the #Braves and Kyle Wright were hoping to see in his season debut: 3 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 3 K, 44 strikes in 75 pitches.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) April 12, 2023
Michael Tonkin took over to start 4th with Reds up 4-2
Luckily for Kyle, Michael Tonkin stepped in and pitched brilliantly to hold Cincinnati at bay. Tonkin covered three innings allowing just one hit and striking out three batters. He did exactly what the Braves and Brian Snitker needed him to do and earned the win in the process. He helped stop the bleeding and allowed the offense a chance to bail out Wright.
The game started nicely with an absolutely incredible home run from Matt Olson in the first inning. He launched the baseball at 118.6 mph and sent it 448 feet right over the Braves bullpen. Atlanta scored another run in the bottom of the third thanks to a double from Sam Hilliard and a single from Ronald Acuna Jr.
Sean Murphy walked to start the bottom of the fourth and was driven in on a 393 foot, two-run homer by Ozzie Albies. This tied the game at 4-4 and it was Albies' 100th career home run. It's wild to think that Albies has been around long enough to hit 100 homers. Hopefully that homer will help get Ozzie going in the right direction as he has struggled early this year.
Give @ozzie the green jacket for this golf shot. pic.twitter.com/GH9qN9kqPO
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) April 12, 2023
The Braves would promptly take a 5-4 lead in the same inning after Sam Hilliard laced another double to score Marcel Ozuna. Atlanta added two more runs in the fifth and seventh innings respectively. This provided the Braves with a 7-4 lead heading into the eighth inning.
Tonkin was followed by Jesse Chavez in the seventh inning and he just continues to shine in a Braves uniform allowing just one hit with one strikeout. It's been nice to have someone like Chavez in the bullpen who is able to come in and give quality outings consistently.
The bullpen stepped up big time in this game and they were able to cover the six remaining innings with relative ease. The one arm out of the bullpen with a rough game was Joe Jiminez who allowed a two-run homer in the top of the eighth that brought the Reds within a run of tying the game. Snit was quick to pull Jiminez after just 14 pitches. He brought in Dylan Lee to complete the inning and send us to the bottom of the eighth with Atlanta on top 7-6.
Nick Anderson continues to impress as he checked into the bottom of the ninth inning to finish out the game for Atlanta and earned a save. Anderson pitched a one-two-three inning and struck out one batter with a nice curveball. This gave the Braves the series win and an opportunity to sweep the series on Wednesday.
Wednesday's series finale will feature two pitchers with nice fastballs. Spencer Strider takes the hill for Atlanta and will face-off with Cincinnati's Hunter Greene. Game time is at 7:20 PM EST.