Last night was…rough and the Braves are staring into the abyss in the standings. They are running out of time to make a run, but they need to win on nights when a Spencer is starting on the mound
Last night was…rough and the Braves are staring into the abyss in the standings. They are running out of time to make a run, but they need to win on nights when a Spencer is starting on the mound.
Schwellenbach will be the Spencer starting tonight’s game for Atlanta and he has been quite good this season. He’s looked like an ace on many nights, but has had a few too many blips to be considered in that tier quite yet. Spencer has had his share of nights where the strikeouts lag behind and also has a hard-hit rate that is a little higher than I am comfortable with. It may be worth walking a few more batters for him to avoid the heart of the plate some more. He also may develop better command in terms of locating his pitches such that he can live closer to the edges of the zone without walking significantly more batters.
Jesus Luzardo will be starting for Philadelphia and he has been quite impressive this season, though his stellar start to the season has settled down to more of a good than great year overall. He has impressive strikeout (10.36/9) and walk (2.89/9) rates, which is a good recipe for success. His sweeper and slider have really been getting it done for him, although he also throws a mid/upper 90s fastball, a solid changeup, and a sinker. Luzardo has turned into a legitimately good starting pitcher after being a once highly-touted prospect, struggling a bit, and changing teams a couple of times.
One might be tempted to call this a slight advantage to Atlanta in the pitching matchup and I might not argue with that much, but I think it’s roughly even right now. Given the state of the Atlanta offense, it might be an uphill battle, so let’s hope that Spencer can show up with one of his ace-level performances.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Saturday, June 28, 7:15 p.m. EDT
Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
TV: FanDuel Sports South/Southeast, Gray TV
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan