The Atlanta Braves took their MLB best record of 58-28 to Tropicana Field on Friday night in a clash with the American League's best team, the Tampa Bay Rays.
Atlanta came into this series 25-4 over their last 29 games with a .309 team average. Tampa Bay started this series on a five-game losing streak and hoped to snap that against the first-place Braves. Tyler Glasnow took the mound for the Rays and was opposed by Charlie Morton, who was returning to face his former team.
Things started off a little rough for Morton as he left a fastball down and in to Wander Franco, who turned on the pitch and launched a solo homer into the right field seats. Luckily, Morton was able to escape that inning and not allow any further damage.
Tyler Glasnow had the Braves figured out early on as he got Ronald Acuna Jr to ground out on his first at-bat of the game. Glasnow then struck out six Atlanta hitters in a row and looked absolutely locked in.
However, once the fourth inning rolled around, Atlanta's offense found a way to get themselves on base. Matt Olson reached first base on a throwing error by Rays second baseman, Brandon Lowe. Olson was driven in by Sean Murphy in the next at-bat as he crushed a two-run homer to give the Braves a 2-1 lead.
MURPH!#ForTheA pic.twitter.com/zmG44xmoR4
— AtBraves ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Braves) July 7, 2023
Murphy was also impressive defensively tonight (I know, shocker) as he threw out not one, but two runners trying to steal second. That's the risk you take when you run against an elite defender like Murphy. Sure am glad he is on our side.
That's all the action we'd really see the rest of the game as offense was tough to come by in Friday night's game. Glasnow left early in the sixth inning with an apparent injury to his non-pitching hand. It didn't appear to be anything serious but that ended his night and got the Braves a shot at the Rays bullpen.
Charlie Morton made it to the sixth inning for Atlanta and was pulled after a Harold Ramirez single. His night ended after 6.1 innings allowing 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, and 6 K. A very good outing after settling into the game after a little rough start.
The Braves bullpen was able to keep the Rays at bay with relative ease. There were some baserunners here and there but none were allowed to score. Minter, Anderson, and Iglesias combined for 2.2 innings allowing 2 H, 1 BB, and 3 K in Friday's game against Tampa Bay.
Iglesias earned his 16th save of the season and looked phenomenal in Friday's 2-1 win over Tampa. The Braves are now 59-28 and retain the best record in Major League Baseball. Game two of this exciting series will take place at 7:15 PM EST and feature Spencer Strider and Taj Bradley on the mound.