Interleague baseball isn’t really the major draw that it used to be and a lot of the shine has worn off of the novelty, especially with MLB set to go to a balanced schedule next season. With that being said, there are still some exciting matchups out there and we’re getting it tonight as the Braves are set to take on an Angels team that will be sending Shohei Ohtani to the mound as a starter and to the plate as well.
The reigning AL MVP will be rolling into town in the midst of a season where he’s actually making more waves as a pitcher than a hitter. Ohtani is currently sporting a 2.38 ERA with a 2.27 FIP. That’s resulted in an ERA- at 61 and a FIP- at 55 — his ERA- rating is currently 8th among all starters with at least 80 innings under their belt and his FIP- is actually second in all of baseball when it comes to the same threshold. Needless to say, the man has been dealing on the mound this season and is going to be a very tough challenge for this Braves lineup tonight.
Shohei Ohtani has been rolling as well — he’s only given up two earned runs over his past 39.2 innings (which cover his most recent six starts) and has struck out 38.7 percent of the batters he’s faced over that span while only walking 7.3 percent of the hitters he’s seen in that time span. He’s also been doing this against all levels of competition during this stretch — he’s been shutting down powerhouse lineups like the Astros while taking care of lesser clubs like the Royals. Again, this has all the makings of being a tough night for the home team where runs could be at a premium.
That makes it all-the-more important that Charlie Morton gives the Braves a good start tonight. Even though Morton will have to deal with Ohtani as a hitter, this is not a particularly imposing Angels lineup to deal with as a whole. The team is only hitting for 93 wRC+ so far this season and they’ll also be without Mike Trout, who recently got placed on the IL due to rib cage inflammation.
The good news is that Morton has actually been pretty solid against lineups that are considered below average (meaning below 100 wRC+). Morton’s past six starts since June 17 have seen him rack up a 32.2 percent strikeout rate with a 7.4 percent walk rate. Basically, if we see the Morton who has been showing up as of late (with the exception of his start against the Mets) then there’s a chance that we could see a pitcher’s duel break out tonight. That’s an if, but we saw Morton round into form during the second half of last season so hopefully his starts since mid-June are a sign of things to come going forward.
I’m pretty excited about this game. Yeah, it’s mostly because of the fact that Shohei Ohtani is actually going to be taking on my favorite baseball team but there’s always a decent amount of excitement for the first game of the second half if your team is having a good season. September’s going to be here before you know it and then October’s within arm’s reach by that point. The Braves figure to have a pretty tough fight on their hands if they’re going to return to the Postseason as divisional champions once again and the run towards the playoffs starts tonight with what is hopefully a winning effort against a rare visit from the Angels.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Friday, July 22, 7:20 p.m. ET
Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, Georgia
TV: Bally Sports Southeast
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan
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