Saturday, August 21, 2021
-Clint Manry
The Braves just keep rolling as they picked up their seventh consecutive win last night. That’s now nine wins in their last ten, putting them ten games over .500 and four games up in the NL East. The victory on Friday wasn’t as exciting as usual, for the Atlanta lineup went quiet. However, starter Max Fried assumed control and wound up going the distance with a complete-game shutout – his first as a major leaguer.
Fried needed just 90 pitches to get through nine innings last night, which makes him the first Braves to pitch an entire game on 90 pitches or less since Greg Maddux himself did it back in September of 2000. Now with a 3.49 ERA in 118.2 innings this season, good for 2.5 fWAR, the 27-year-old Fried is looking a lot more like his 2019 self. In fact, if he keeps this up, the southpaw should easily surpass that career-best campaign in which he finished with 3 WAR in 165 innings.
The Braves offense only managed seven hits, but the lineup did a nice job providing the power. Both catcher Travis d’Arnaud and outfielder Jorge Soler homered in the victory over the Orioles…
With Baltimore’s overall struggles this season, three runs was all Atlanta needed to take care of business last night. The Braves will go for the series win on Saturday as a hot Drew Smyly will take on Matt Harvey at 7:05 PM.
Today I’m a little busier than usual, so the minor league portion of this recap will feature just scores and stats. Be sure to check out Bryce Elder’s Triple-A debut from last night, as well as the Gwinnett offense who went crazy with four homers in their win over Louisville.
(66-56) ATLANTA BRAVES
W, 3-0 vs. Orioles
SP, M. Fried – (W), 9 IP, 4 H, 4 K
C, T. d’Arnaud – 2 for 3, HR, 2 RBI
DH, J. Soler – 1 for 4, HR, RBI
(54-40) GWINNETT STRIPERS
W, 10-5 vs. Louisville
SP, B. Elder – (W), 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, HR
RF, E. Rosario – 1 for 5, HR, 3 RBI
2B, J. Kipnis – 3 for 3, HR, RBI
C, J. Morales – 4 for 4, HR, 2B, 3 RBI
1B, J. Camargo – 1 for 5, HR, 2 RBI
(57-37) MISSISSIPPI BRAVES
W, 3-1 (F/8) vs. Montgomery
W, 9-0 vs. Montgomery
SP, N. Kingham – (W), 7 IP, 6 H, ER, 5 K
SP, H. Deal – 0.2 IP, H, 2 K
2B/SS, W. Rijo – 4 for 8, HR, 2B, 3 RBI
DH/LF, J. Ramos – 2 for 6, 2B, RBI, 2 R
(41-52) ROME BRAVES
W, 5-2 (F/7) vs. Greenville
L, 4-1 vs. Greenville
SP, D. Vines – (W), 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 7 K, HR
SP, C. Huntley – (L), 4 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, K
1B, B. Langhorne – 2 for 6, HR, RBI
SS/3B, B. Philip – 2 for 6, 2B, 2 RBI
3B/SS, L. Waddell – 3 for 6, RBI
2B, C. Milligan – 3 for 7
(2021 draftee)
(40-54) AUGUSTA GREENJACKETS
L, 6-5 vs. Carolina
SP, J. Estes – 5 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
CF, S. Paolini – 4 for 5, 3B, 2 RBI, 2 SB
LF, C. Robinson – 2 for 5, 2 R, SB
SS, V. Grissom – 2 for 5, 2B
3B, C. Bunnell – 2 for 5, 3B, 2 RBI
2B, C. Shepherd – 1 for 3, RBI, R, SB
(2021 draftee)
(19-15) FCL BRAVES
PPD vs. FCL Rays
Will make up today.
