Soroka leads strong Braves pitching performance in 3-0 win over Astros

Mike Soroka threw four scoreless innings and the Braves’ bullpen followed suit with five scoreless innings of their own as the Braves took down the trash can-less Astros by the score of 3-0.

Soroka got the starter nod on Tuesday and after giving up a leadoff single to George Springer, Mike retired the next three Astros hitters to pitch a scoreless frame. The Braves faithful were in midseason form to start the game as they were relentlessly booing the Astros which, as it turns out, is how most baseball fans have been greeting Houston when they take the field.

Ronald Acuna started the game for the Braves’ offense with a walk followed by a stolen base. Ozzie Albies would then send him home with an RBI single and the Braves found themselves with an early lead. Johan Camargo followed suit with an RBI double and the Braves found themselves with a 2-0 lead without having recorded an out. The Braves were not done in the first inning, however, as Ender Inciarte would draw a two-out walk and Dansby Swanson would drive Camargo in with an RBI single of his own to make it a 3-0 lead.

While the offense went quiet for a few innings after that, Soroka continued to hold down the fort on the mound. Other than a third inning which saw him uncharacteristically walk a pair of batters, Soroka faced few challenges through the game’s first four innings. After a leadoff walk in the fifth inning, Soroka’s day was done with a final line of 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K. Chris Rusin would relieve Soroka and would retire the next three Astros hitters without incident.

Really, the next few innings would go by without much to speak of. Through the eighth inning, neither team scored with Mark Melancon and Chris Martin each having scoreless outings for the Braves in relief. The ninth inning got interesting in a hurry as Luke Jackson got a strikeout, then gave up back to back singles before striking out Nick Tanielu for the second out. Fortunately, crisis was averted as Jackson struck out his third batter of the inning to secure the win.