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The Atlanta Braves are on a winning spree. They’ve won nine games in a row and never trailed in six of them. To top it off they’ve won 16 of their last 17. Even when they lost by a single run to the Cincinnati Reds during their remarkable winning stretch they nearly came back in the game.
Just glance over the National League All-Star roster and you can start to see why. They’re fully loaded with a syndicate of All-Stars headed to Seattle. Their lineup is brimming with power, speed, and great pitching. The Braves lost their 2022 All-Star shortstop Dansby Swanson to the Chicago Cubs and still don’t appear to have regressed in the slightest. His replacement is an All-Star too.
2023 Braves All-Stars:
- Starting Pitcher – Bryce Elder
- Starting Pitcher – Spencer Strider
- Catcher – Sean Murphy
- First Base – Matt Olson
- Second Base – Ozzie Albies
- Third Base – Austin Riley
- Shortstop – Orlando Arcia
- Outfield – Ronald Acuna Jr.
- Outfield – Michael Harris II
Second to one
Braves’ infielder Albies is second only to his teammate Olson in the National League in RBIs. As far as second basemen go, he’s also second in home runs with 20, only trailing the LA Dodgers’ Mookie Betts and his 22 knocks.
Second year sensation Elder was optioned to Triple-A in spring training. Then Max Fried got an injury early in the season. Fast forward to now and Elder’s got the second-best ERA in the Majors, only behind Cubs’ Justin Steele.
Elder got the nod for the first of the three-game series against the Guardians. Though he pitched quite well he didn’t get his first and only strikeout until the bottom of the sixth inning against an ailing Josh Naylor. He couldn’t get out of the seventh and was pulled from the game after giving up three consecutive hits and giving up the Guardians’ second and final run of the game.
Given their early season troubles, Braves’ pitching has been a pleasant surprise. They currently have the best ERA among their starting rotation in the National League.
Games against the Guardians don’t happen too often. The last time the two faced each other was in 2019 in Cleveland. The last time the Guardians were in Atlanta was in 2016.
Ultimately the Braves hit four solo homers, which isn’t uncommon for them. Their number nine hitter was responsible for two of them.
Though the Guardians came into the game ranked first in the AL Central, the Braves were easily projected to best them. Now with the loss by the Guardians and the win by the Minnesota Twins, they’re back in second place. The Braves and Guardians will face each other just twice more this season, unless of course they happen to meet in the World Series.
