Atlanta’s starting pitching continued its good run while the offense finally showed some signs of life.
It was a quick trip home for the Atlanta Braves, but the short stay provided a much-needed boost after a rough road trip. The Braves completed a two-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox Wednesday night with a 5-0 win. Chris Sale turned in another great performance while the offense got started early. Atlanta will enjoy yet another off day Thursday before heading back out on the road for a three-game series against the Mets in New York on Friday.
Chris Sale dominant again
When the Braves acquired Chris Sale from the Red Sox back on December 30, many were concerned as to whether he would be healthy enough to make an impact. Those fears were warranted after Sale made just 11 starts across a three-year stretch spanning the 2020, 2021, and 2022 seasons. He took the mound 20 times for the Red Sox in 2023, but his season was again derailed by a shoulder issue.
Shortly after the deal, Sale declared himself as healthy as he had been in a long time. He said that this past offseason was the first where he wasn’t rehabbing an injury in some time. He was down in North Port throwing bullpens early in hopes of showing everyone that he wasn’t finished.
He’s off to an excellent start with the Braves and showed again Wednesday how much of an impact starter he can be. Facing his former team for the first time, Sale tossed six scoreless innings while recording a season-high 10 strikeouts. He also threw a season-high 103 pitches, which is the most he has thrown in a game since he threw 111 on May 20 of last season.
Chris Sale, Wicked 83mph Slider.
8th K pic.twitter.com/zhM1KedCu7
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 9, 2024
Atlanta’s starting rotation continues to pitch well. Reynaldo Lopez cruised through five innings in Tuesday’s game before issuing three walks in the sixth. Lopez and Sale combined allowed just one run and struck out 15 in 11 1/3 innings.
Among the 140 starters with the most innings so far this season, both Sale and Lopez are just outside the top 30 with 0.8 fWAR each. Sale’s 69 xFIP- is a top-ten mark; the only reason he’s not towards the top of the fWAR leaderboard are all those leadoff homers he’s yielded.
The rotation has helped to keep the Braves towards the top of the league, even as the offense has slumbered. Since April 22, which is about the time the offense stopped piling up runs, the Atlanta rotation ranks eighth in fWAR, fourth in xFIP-, and has combined with the defense to put up MLB’s second-best ERA-.
Marcell Ozuna continues to carry the offense
Marcell Ozuna’s eyes had to have lit up when it was announced that Nick Pivetta would be coming off the Injured List to start Wednesday’s game for Boston. Ozuna came into the game with six hits against Pivetta, which included four home runs. Ozuna connected on a three-run shot in the first inning and then added a solo home run off Pivetta in the third.
Ozuna, who also put the Braves in front Tuesday with an RBI single in the eighth, now leads the majors with 12 home runs and 38 RBI. Per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, Ozuna’s 38 RBIs are the second most in franchise history through the first 34 games of the season. Hank Aaron had 39 RBIs in his first 34 games in 1957. Aaron had 37 RBIs through 34 games in 1970. Pretty elite company for Ozuna.
Ozuna is second to only Shohei Ohtani in xwOBA; aside from Ohtani, the only two guys with a higher wOBA both have around 50 PAs to Ozuna’s 150ish.
The Braves’ usual lineup has both a wOBA and xwOBA around .340 (the team’s is about .010 lower thanks to guys like Chadwick Tromp). Removing Ozuna from the equation drops their wOBA and xwOBA by about .020, much closer to decidedly average. He really has been the offense this year.
First inning runs
Atlanta’s offense got on track early Wednesday. That was a hallmark of their 2023 season where they scored 146 runs in the first inning. The four runs on Wednesday gave the Braves 18 first inning runs this season, which puts them on pace for just 86.
The rally almost didn’t happen and was sparked by a successful challenge at first base. Ozzie Albies singled with one out, but Austin Riley appeared to bounce into an inning-ending double play. The Braves challenged, though, and replay showed that Riley just beat Vaughn Grissom’s throw. That was just the third play the Braves have challenged all season, but they have been successful on all three. Matt Olson followed with a 41.5 mph infield single which set the stage for Ozuna’s three-run shot.
The offense wasn’t finished, either, as Orlando Arcia connected with a solo homer of his own. It was the first time all season that Atlanta had hit back-to-back home runs. Arcia added a double and finished the game with two hits.
The Braves have scored first-inning runs in ten of their 34 games this season. Yesterday’s outburst was their first time scoring multiple first-inning runs since April 24; they hadn’t scored four-plus first-inning runs since July 29 of last year. Nor can you entirely blame just the hitting — they have the seventh-best xwOBA in the first inning this year, but a league-average wOBA, thanks to the fifth-biggest underperformance in the first inning so far. In particular, Austin Riley has an underperformance approaching .100, and Matt Olson’s is nearly .200.