The Atlanta Braves did just enough Saturday night to extend their winning stream to eight straight games with a 5-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Atlanta is undefeated on its current nine-game road trip and will get a chance to finish off a third straight sweep Sunday.
That is only one small part of Atlanta’s surge. The Braves have now won 12 straight road games tying the modern-era franchise record that was set by the 1993-94 team across two seasons. No other team has won more than nine consecutive road games this season.
Most importantly for the Braves, they have surged to the top of the NL East standings and will carry a five-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies into play Sunday.
Touki Toussaint will get the start for Atlanta Sunday and will be looking to build off of a good performance last time out. Toussaint allowed three hits, two runs and struck out seven over 6 1/3 innings in his last start against the Marlins. While he hasn’t been as locked in as his first two starts of the season at the end of July, Toussaint has given the Braves a chance allowing two earned runs or less in five of his six starts.
“When he first came up, the first couple of starts were really good and the previous two in Triple A, were really good,” Snitker said when asked about Toussaint’s progress heading into Sunday. “I’ve seen him make some adjustments on the fly during games and then bounce back from a tough game here and there. I think the kid is maturing and starting to figure some things out. We all know the stuffs there, ability to spin the ball, all that and he’s becoming more consistent.”
The Orioles will counter with lefty John Means who is coming off of a rough outing his last time out. Means lasted just four innings in his last start while allowing eight hits and seven runs, although just four were earned against the Rays. After a good start to the season, Means went on the injured list with a strained shoulder and has struggled since returning posting a 6.10 ERA (6.01 FIP) over his last six starts. This will be Means’ first career appearance against Atlanta.
The Braves placed catcher Travis d’Arnaud on the paternity list prior to Saturday’s game capping off a whirlwind 24 hours for the veteran backstop. Rookie catcher William Contreras was recalled to take d’Arnaud’s spot on the active roster and Snitker said Saturday that the plan was for him to start Sunday’s game.
The series finale has a scheduled start time of 1:05 p.m. ET and can be seen on Bally Sports Southeast.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Sunday, August 22, 1:05 p.m. ET
Location: Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD
TV: Bally Sports Southeast
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan, WNNX 100.5, Braves Radio Network