Mike Foltynewicz Returns To Face Red Hot Reds

With their established pattern of playing to the level of their opponents - a pattern which we saw continue during this past weekend’s series loss against the lowly Orioles - will the Braves play up or down to the Reds this week? Will they falter against the last place Cincinnati team with the 32-45 overall record? Or will they rise to the occasion and knock off the suddenly surging team in the midst of an unexpected 7-game winning streak?

To kick the series off, Mike Foltynewicz is scheduled to come off the disabled list and make his first start since June 12. Hopefully, the triceps tightness which kept him on the shelf for two weeks has abated, and he can round back into dominant form. Over his last 7 starts, he is 3-2 with a 0.86 ERA / 2.20 FIP, and is averaging 10.93 K/9.

The Reds will send Tyler Mahle to the mound. Mahle went 6 decent innings against the Braves on April 24, only to see the Cincinnati bullpen allow 4 runs in the top of the 9th to send the game into extra innings. The Reds eventually won that game, 9-7, on a 12th inning walk-off home run from Scooter Gennett.

Despite some subpar pitching from the Braves over this past weekend - if we’re being polite - the offense still managed to churn out 19 runs behind a resurgent Ozzie Albies. Since moving back into the two-hole in the lineup, the diminutive dynamo looked like vintage Ozzie, going 9-for-16 (all singles) with no strikeouts. Staying in the second slot and batting in front of Freddie Freeman could be just what the doctor ordered to get Albies’ season back on track. As goes Ozzie, so goes the Braves offense.

Even with the series loss against Baltimore, the Braves are still in first place by 2 ½ games thanks to an inner-division slugfest between the Phillies and Nationals over the weekend.

A corresponding move to make room for Foltynewicz on the 25-man roster has not yet been announced, but we will keep you posted as soon as information comes available.

Game Info

Date: Monday, June 25, 2018

Time: 7:35 pm EDT

Location: SunTrust Park, Atlanta, GA

TV: Fox Sports Southeast, MLB.tv

Radio: 680 AM/93.7 FM, WYAY 106.7, Braves Radio Network