Atlanta may not have swept the worst team in the NL but a series win capped off a productive trip out West.
The Atlanta Braves entered this series with Colorado with a bit of confidence in their step and a wind behind their sails. After all, they had just gotten done toppling a tough Diamondbacks team for their first road series win of the season and were dealing with a Rockies squad that could end up going down as one of the worst teams to ever set foot on a big league diamond. Yes, the Rockies are already in danger of potentially joining the 2024 White Sox when it comes to baseball’s hall of incredibly awful teams. As rough as the Braves have had it to start this season, remember: It could always be worse — much worse, in fact.
Anyways, the offense was swinging the bat well coming into this series and the pitching was also starting to come up big when needed. As such, it sure seemed feasible that the Braves could completely take of business and pick up a sweep while also reaching .500 for the first time since the moment before the umpire screamed out “Play Ball” on Opening Day back on March 27. The stage was set and hopefully Atlanta would take advantage and avoid a disappointment in the Rocky Mountains.
Monday, April 28
Braves 6, Rockies 3
The Braves fell behind 3-0 in the first inning of this one after Bryce Elder threw one of his trademark hangers that Hunter Goodman made no mistake with for a three-run homer. For long stretches of the 2024 season (and parts of this month as well), this would’ve been cause for alarm that Atlanta’s offense would be unable to muster up the four runs needed to turn the game around completely.
Fortunately, this offense appears to be in something resembling a groove, as they were able to chip away at the three-run deficit pretty quickly before eventually tying the game in the fourth after Nick Allen delivered a game-tying infield single. The fifth inning ended up being the big one for Atlanta, as a two-out, two-RBI double from Michael Harris II put the Braves ahead 5-3. Sean Murphy added on an RBI single in the sixth inning, Bryce Elder calmed down after the first inning and the bullpen locked down Colorado’s lineup in order to make sure that the game ended 6-3.
Tuesday, April 29
Braves 8, Rockies 2
AJ Smith-Shawver was called upon to start this one and sure enough, he delivered another solid outing. When you consider that three of his four starts have come in San Diego against a talented Padres lineup, in Tampa in a stadium that has the same exact dimensions as Yankee Stadium and in this extremely hitter-friendly ballpark in Coors Field, the fact that he’s come away with only two runs allowed in each of those three starts is pretty impressive. Shawver got into the sixth inning in this one and struck out five while only giving up four hits and a walk. It wasn’t dominant but it was exactly what the doctor ordered for a young pitcher trying to get a real foothold in MLB.
While Smith-Shawver was busy dealing with the Rockies, the Braves picked up on Tuesday night where they left off on Monday night against Colorado. Michael Harris II delivered a go-ahead two-RBI double in the second inning and then he restored Atlanta’s two-run lead with a productive out that made it 3-1 in the fourth inning. Shortly after that, Nick Allen brought in a pair as he floated in an opposite-field single that made it 5-1 Braves at that point and the inning eventually ended 6-1.
Austin Riley added on a pair of RBIs in the sixth and eighth inning that eventually brought us to the final score of 8-2. While the Braves did a great job of keeping the momentum going in the right direction at the plate, this game also served as a prime example of just how bad the Rockies are. A lot of sloppy baseball from Colorado definitely helped Atlanta’s cause in this one but you aren’t going to see any of us around here complaining about it!
Wednesday, April 30
Rockies 2, Braves 1
Well, the good news about this one is that Chris Sale had what was quite clearly his best start of the season. Sale went seven innings and only gave up two runs while striking out ten batters and walking none. Sale has been desperately searching for a start like this one all month and he finally got it in this one. Obviously, we’re all hoping that this is the start of Sale going on another tear — one similar to the one that helped propel him to the NL Cy Young Award in 2024.
The bad news is that Sale’s great performance ended up going up in smoke as far as this game was concerned, as Atlanta’s offense fell flat against Chase Dollander and Colorado’s bullpen. This was another one of those games where seemingly every time the Braves hit a ball hard, it was destined to land in a glove instead of on the grass. While it’s always a bummer to drop a game against a team of this caliber (and also to go a whole series at Coors Field without hitting a home run is certainly interesting), the disappointment was at least countered by the fact that the Braves were leaving the NL West with a 4-2 road trip under their belts. Not bad at all!
A sweep would’ve been absolutely fantastic, as it would’ve meant that the Braves would be escaping this turbulent month with a .500 record. Instead, they’re still within striking distance of reaching the break-even mark and they’ve gotten this far while finally figuring out a way to win on the road. While Atlanta’s road record is still pretty rough at 6-13, that’s a whole lot better than the 2-11 record that they had away from Cobb County when this road trip started.
While winning a series against a Rockies may not be nearly as impressive as taking a series in Arizona was, the two wins Atlanta picked up in Colorado count just the same as the ones they picked up int he desert. This was exactly the type of road trip that the Braves needed to get things back on track as far as their road form goes and they have to be feeling pretty good about themselves as they return home for a big weekend series against the Dodgers. The difficulty level is about to take a huge spike this weekend but for now, the Braves are coming back home after taking care of business in Colorado while hoping to continue their streak of winning series. Sometimes you just got to take care of business and that’s exactly what the Braves did by taking this series against the Rockies.