Battery Power - June 25: Braves 5, Dodgers 3Your one stop shop for everything Atlanta Braveshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52890/favicon-32x32..png2022-06-25T23:04:20-04:00http://www.batterypower.com/rss/stream/229470702022-06-25T23:04:20-04:002022-06-25T23:04:20-04:00Ronald Acuña Jr. leaves game with sore foot
<figure>
<img alt="MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/e2JU7nR__oO4U8YPAPs5E3Nxq1E=/0x0:3999x2666/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71016948/usa_today_18596028.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Brian Snitker said after the game that he didn’t think it was serious, but they will know more Sunday. </p> <p id="5rRw8p">Ronald Acuña Jr. left Saturday’s win over the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> between the eighth and ninth inning due to a sore foot. Acuña fouled a pitch off his foot earlier in the game. Guillermo Heredia took his place in right field for the final three outs. </p>
<p id="Lup61D">Brian Snitker didn’t have an update after the game and said that Acuña was being checked out by the team’s training staff. </p>
<p id="hQWsRS">“I don’t know they’re checking him out. He fouled that ball off his foot and he’s really sore,” Snitker said. “So we don’t want to take any chances. We will probably know more tomorrow.”</p>
<p id="ALBYsZ">When asked if they thought it could be something serious like a fracture, Snitker replied that he didn’t think so but that they should know more in the morning. </p>
<p id="iuwKeJ">“I don’t think so. I think it’s just really sore and they didn’t want him coming out of the box or hurting anything else. So we’ll see where he’s at in the morning.”</p>
<p id="WQFU92">Acuña was 1-for-4 at the plate and scored from second on a fifth inning double by Austin Riley. The Braves will wrap up a three-game series with the Dodgers Sunday night. </p>
https://www.batterypower.com/2022/6/25/23183391/ronald-acuna-jr-injury-sore-foot-atlanta-bravesKris Willis2022-06-25T18:45:01-04:002022-06-25T18:45:01-04:00GameThread, 6/25/2022: Dodgers @ Braves
<figure>
<img alt="Los Angeles Dodgers v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/SDJVQV-Ndhg1daOfedF4BFOTH2w=/0x0:3696x2464/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71016635/1405077795.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Mitch White vs. Max Fried</p> <p id="C0bcAC">Oh, right, I’m supposed to put up a Game Thread for these things. Funny how that works.</p>
<p id="neJz4w">Anyway, Statcast graphic!</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/udd993r5dFXkyI6V-pEnL_Zm7iM=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23651889/8AnNfDW.png">
</figure>
<p id="ZoFtOM">It’s a novel lineup for L.A. by necessity, given Mookie Betts’ absence and the insertion of Trayce Thompson into the mix. It’s also a novel lineup for the Braves, but these faces are all familiar — and believe it or not, after this game, this will be the most common starting nine for the Braves, with six games in total.</p>
https://www.batterypower.com/2022/6/25/23183233/gamethread-6-25-2022-dodgers-bravesIvan the Great2022-06-25T17:16:00-04:002022-06-25T17:16:00-04:00Eddie Rosario to begin rehab assignment Saturday night in Nashville
<figure>
<img alt="Miami Marlins v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_LGSbV5w-JmKhlSaU_xsVl97Yuc=/0x11:2502x1679/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71016446/1240162860.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Rosario will join Gwinnett Saturday in Nashville to begin a rehab assignment</p> <p id="EMcyRN">Eddie Rosario is on his way back. The <a href="https://www.talkingchop.com/">Atlanta Braves</a> announced Saturday that Rosario will begin a rehab assignment with the Gwinnett Stripers in Nashville Saturday night and begin his journey back to the major league roster. </p>
<div id="w3qgkv">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">OF Eddie Rosario is set to begin a major league rehabilitation assignment tonight with Triple-A Gwinnett in Nashville, Tenn.</p>— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) <a href="https://twitter.com/Braves/status/1540803344234602497?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2022</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<p id="W1dd47">Rosario was placed on the injured list on April 26 due to blurred vision and swelling in his right retina. He underwent corrective laser surgery and was expected to miss between eight and 12 weeks. Rosario has been working out on the field before games at Truist Park and recently ramped up his baseball activities according to manager Brian Snitker. </p>
<p id="PMgkJf">Rosario was clearly not himself as he got off to a 3-for-44 start at the plate and was shaky defensively as well committing three errors in the outfield. It will be interesting to see where he fits into the Braves’ outfield picture once he returns. Ronald Acuña Jr. and Michael Harris have locked down two of the outfield spots. Adam Duvall has hit better since shifting back to left, but his overall numbers are still underwhelming. Marcell Ozuna has continued to struggle as well so there is a chance that Rosario could take a few at-bats away from him as well. </p>
<p id="Z6AJ7O"></p>
https://www.batterypower.com/2022/6/25/23183143/eddie-rosario-injury-rehab-assignment-gwinnettKris Willis2022-06-25T16:00:00-04:002022-06-25T16:00:00-04:00What to watch for in Saturday night’s Dodgers-Braves game
<figure>
<img alt="World Series - Atlanta Braves v Houston Astros - Game Two" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_FHlHbgjObAFmOUfI_B94Xj9K48=/0x0:4193x2795/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71016282/1349539762.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Tricky Max; White-hot against four-seamers</p> <p id="Fiu1am">All eyes should be on Max Fried tonight, to see if he can craft an encore to his earlier domination of the Dodgers, and help the Braves even this series. But, check this out:</p>
<p id="bYenjT"><strong>Tricky, tricky Fried (maybe)</strong></p>
<p id="oVDnzk">At this point, Fried has a five-pitch mix, but his four-seamer is still his most common offering, coming out of his hand about 30 percent of the time. (This is a decline from pre-2022, when he threw it around 40 percent of the time — his newfound changeup has eaten into the four-seamer’s usage.) </p>
<p id="4b0MoD">The Dodgers, though, are interesting in this regard. They’re tied with the Braves for MLB’s fourth-highest xwOBA (.351), but they’re a little worse against lefties (.347, eighth). Critically, they’re <em>below-average</em> against lefty four-seamers (.348, tied for 19th). This isn’t a new trend, they were similarly meh against them in 2021, and were downright awful against them over the first two weeks of 2022, before Fried started against them in L.A. Given all that, you might figure something like, “The Dodgers struggle against lefty four-seamers, this is a great opportunity for Fried to up his usage of that pitch and overpower them,” right? Makes sense.</p>
<p id="pqzRXQ">Except, that’s not what he did. Instead, he did the opposite: his start against the Dodgers featured his second-lowest four-seamer usage of the year. Instead, he threw more sinkers and changeups, two pitches that the Dodgers are relatively better against (ninth and 12th, respectively, in xwOBA against those pitches thrown by lefties this year). The Dodgers were third against lefty sinkers in 2021, so this was somewhat of a gambit, but it worked out great.</p>
<p id="Uj2HWo">So, Fried has some options. He can try to repeat what he did in April and hope that’s still surprising. He can actually try to get by with more four-seamers, playing it straight, as it were. Maybe he’ll bust something else out. It should be fun to watch.</p>
<p id="hcQHxs"><strong>Scald White’s four-seamer</strong></p>
<p id="nSqG89">Mitch White’s pitch mix is very generic — he’s basically 50/25/25 four-seamer/curve/slider, and he’s effective because his breaking pitches have good shape. His command is mediocre, but he spots the slider on the edge enough to rack up strikeouts and make it a quality offering. His fastball, on the other hand, has little going for it and isn’t commanded well, so it gets brutalized — a .412 xwOBA-against right now, with a measly whiff rate of 12 percent.</p>
<p id="rBy5MS">Good news, then: the Braves looooove four-seamers. They have the best xwOBA against them in MLB (.417!). The list of players the Braves have that don’t brutalize them is shorter than the list they do: of 17 players that have ended a PA with a righty four-seamer this year, <em>ten</em> have an xwOBA against them of over .400. The ones that don’t currently on the roster are Austin Riley, Adam Duvall, Travis d’Arnaud, Guillermo Heredia, and Phil Gosselin. Marcell Ozuna, for all of his myriad issues, has a .613 xwOBA against righty four-seamers, second in MLB for anyone with 40+ PAs ending with that pitch only to Aaron Judge. Orlando Arcia is at .537, Matt Olson is at .505, and the list goes on.</p>
<p id="KxwdaO">If the Braves start both Ozuna and William Contreras (.446), they could run out a lineup where seven of nine guys should be able to absolutely obliterate White’s primary offering, forcing him to adjust and possibly walk a bunch of guys. Of course, it’s baseball, and anything can happen, but look to see if four-seamers are just flying out of the yard tonight. </p>
https://www.batterypower.com/2022/6/25/23182824/what-to-watch-for-in-saturday-nights-dodgers-braves-game-max-fried-mitch-white-four-seamersIvan the Great2022-06-25T14:00:00-04:002022-06-25T14:00:00-04:00Can Fried dominate Dodgers again?
<figure>
<img alt="Atlanta Braves v Los Angeles Dodgers" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/hu7_Pz89NJeyMQxpmDLecaXBPHs=/0x0:4274x2849/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71016000/1240099781.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Hooray for Max Fried Day!</p> <p id="kjmgWt">Friday didn’t go ideally for the Braves, as they dropped a 4-1 decision to the visiting Dodgers. But, fear not: Saturday is a new day, and the Braves have the immense luxury of throwing Max Fried at their formidable rivals tonight.</p>
<p id="qo6w2g">Max Fried, as you know, is really good. <em>Really</em> good. His 2.4 fWAR on the year ties him for sixth-best in MLB among starters, and his xFIP- of 74 is better than two of the other guys above him. Overall, he brings a dominant 65 ERA-, 69 FIP-, 74 xFIP- line into this game. Part of how amazing he’s been is just how consistently he’s eviscerated opposing teams. In 14 starts, he’s had an FIP- above 83 just three times (all of those three above 100). In those 14 starts, he has <em>zero</em> games with an xFIP- above 100. If you only care about results and take Game Score literally, the story is similar: he has as many games in which he outright dominated (85 Game Score v2) as he does that were below average (Game Score v2 below 50). </p>
<p id="5YqEvu">Here’s the kicker: Fried’s best start of the year? It came against these self-same Dodgers. On April 19, in L.A., Fried twirled seven scoreless innings with an 8/0 K/BB ratio... against one of the best offensive teams in baseball. Asking him to repeat the feat may be too much, but would you really doubt what Fried can accomplish at this point?</p>
<p id="VghaGF">Fried’s mound opponent in this game was supposed to be veteran southpaw Andrew Heaney, but the latter has been sent back to the Injured List with shoulder issues for the second time this year. Given Heaney’s status, the Dodgers will deploy swingman Mitch White as the starter tonight.</p>
<p id="BwhbtU">White started the season in L.A.’s bullpen, where he had a 120/86/91 line while throwing long-ish relief. More recently, he’s taken four turns in the rotation, with an 82/96/88 line that is far more than just decent or fill-in quality — though he’s averaged just over four innings per start and hasn’t exceeded five frames in any of those four tries. The Braves should be at least a little familiar with White, as he threw two innings of relief against them in April, A procession of Dodger relievers will likely follow, especially if the Braves put the screws to White early. </p>
<p id="FiQ1q6"></p>
<p id="QaQuk9"><strong>Game Info</strong></p>
<p id="tH2z5r">Los Angeles Dodgers @ Atlanta Braves</p>
<p id="kjgbxe">Saturday, June 25, 2022</p>
<p id="q4xVS5">7:15 pm EDT</p>
<p id="C24933">Truist Park, Atlanta, GA</p>
<p id="TqMIzZ">TV: FOX</p>
<p id="h15TwU">Radio: 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan</p>
<p id="KKvkUU">XM Radio: Ch. 176</p>
<p id="SCIIaE"></p>
https://www.batterypower.com/2022/6/25/23182788/atlanta-braves-los-angeles-dodgers-preview-june-25-2022-max-fried-mitch-whiteIvan the Great2022-06-25T11:00:00-04:002022-06-25T11:00:00-04:00Braves Notes: Ian Anderson’s start, Freddie Freeman, injury updates and more
<figure>
<img alt="San Francisco Giants v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Q2y_xXj_uoqM4E3RZaxI3w9ln-Q=/0x0:5458x3639/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71015671/1404483720.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>News and notes from Friday’s series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers</p> <p id="PPNS2Z">Friday’s loss by the <a href="https://www.talkingchop.com/">Atlanta Braves</a> to the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Los Angeles Dodgers</a> had a bit of everything. It was an emotional night as Freddie Freeman made his return to Atlanta and received his <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/world-series">World Series</a> championship ring. For a moment, the game kind of took a backseat to the festivities and Atlanta starter Ian Anderson admitted after the game that it was kind of difficult to lock back in after Freeman’s moment. </p>
<p id="VhEYxF">“You knew is going to be a big moment. That’s part of the reason why we all love playing here,” Anderson said after the game. “We knew the fans were gonna give him a great reception and he deserved every second of it. It’s tough to kind of focus back in and I kind of felt like I was underwater in the first thing a little bit, moving a little slow and couldn’t figure it out.”</p>
<p id="qLZKDR">Three batters into the game, the Dodgers had a run in and runners at second and third against Anderson. He did a pretty good job of escaping the inning with just two runs scoring considering that only 11 of his 27 pitches landed in the strike zone. </p>
<p id="OngMRN">He worked around a couple of singles in the second and settled in and retired eight straight hitters. However, Trea Turner led off the fifth with a solo home run to right field and things spiraled from there. </p>
<p id="Cuuvm8">“Just a little scattergun in the first inning pretty much. Then he kind of got on a roll there,” Brian Snitker said of Anderson’s start. “I just hoping to get another inning out of him really. It’s Turner, I don’t know how, that ball was kind of up and he just hit it.”</p>
<p id="yT2rCd">“Willie stayed with me and we were able to kind of get in a groove, two through four,” Anderson said. “In the fifth, I thought I made two pretty good pitches. I thought the pitch to Turner was a pretty good pitch. He put a good swing on it and got it out. Then the one to Smith was well below the zone and he put a good swing on it and got it down the line. Yeah, it kind of spiraled a little quickly. I thought Collin did a really good job coming in, and the whole bullpen really, it’s going to be huge for the rest of the series.”</p>
<p id="DS42Zy">Collin McHugh entered a bases loaded with no one out situation and was able to get out of it with just one run scoring. It was McHugh’s third appearance since returning from a bout with Covid</p>
<p id="pmQC9I">“He did a great job and that was good too after him being down for so long,” Snitker said of McHugh. “He got a one plus [against the Giants] and then to go three innings. I kind of feel like we got him back right where he needs to be. That was good. That was really great for us and him I think to cover those innings.”</p>
<p id="bYoSjy">Anderson’s season has been full of ups and downs so far. Coming into Friday’s game, he had pitched into the sixth inning in six of his past seven starts. He was able to settle in after a rough first inning, but things fell apart again in the fifth. While the results weren’t good, Anderson found some positives to take away from the start and believes he can build on them going forward. </p>
<p id="cAlSTI">“I’ll put this one in the middle,” Anderson replied when asked where Friday’s start ranks on the season. “I thought I had pretty good swing and miss stuff. I thought the change up was actually really good. But it’s a good team where you have to put it in that spot. If it’s below, they’re gonna take it and if it’s above they’re gonna put a good swing on it. So, kind of ran into that a little bit, but for the most part, I thought we did a good job, and you gotta give credit to their guy, too. He threw the ball really well.</p>
<p id="NXt98Q"><strong>Freddie Freeman’s return</strong></p>
<p id="bOiPqa">The focus Friday was mostly on Freeman’s return. Brian Snitker presented him with his championship ring in the middle of the field before the game and later talked about the big ovation that he received from the fans. </p>
<p id="I3qh2F">It was good. Before the game, the ceremony, I thought the fans were unbelievable with the ovation they gave him,” Snitker said. “I was really proud of them because that guy meant a lot to us.”</p>
<p id="S6H5xN">“A little bit, definitely,” Anderson said when asked if it was still a little strange to see Freeman in a Dodgers uniform. “Still obviously good camaraderie with the guys that got on base and when he was on base, but we want to compete against against that team against those guys and against him now. So, that’s kind of the main goal at the end of the day.”</p>
<p id="k9KSrR"><strong>Injury updates on Eddie Rosario and Tyler Matzek</strong></p>
<p id="VZPnTT">Prior to Friday’s game, Snitker provided an update on a couple of injured players. Eddie Rosario has been taking batting practice and working out on the field with the team at Truist Park, but there was still no word on when he might begin a rehab assignment. </p>
<p id="LOX2ZG">“I just saw him in a cage and he’s just doing his workouts,” Snitker said. “I think he is amping up things and doing more baseball stuff. I don’t know what the timetable is. He’s feeling good.”</p>
<p id="aC4fld">Tyler Matzek has resumed throwing and is scheduled to throw a live BP session Saturday. </p>
<p id="s0cnNx">“He’s throwing, he feels good. I think he’s got to live BP tomorrow. So that’s kind of where he’s at and all good stuff so he’s progressing forward and it’s all good.”</p>
<p id="jBu4yP"></p>
<p id="Cf7Rkh"></p>
<p id="NpG2DB"></p>
<p id="3CohLO"></p>
<p id="UrTQuI"></p>
<p id="hDwqiq"></p>
<p id="S7jNL9"></p>
<p id="GssKbA"></p>
<p id="k0PbRF"></p>
https://www.batterypower.com/2022/6/25/23182746/atlanta-braves-notes-ian-anderson-start-freddie-freeman-injury-updates-eddie-rosario-tyler-matzekKris Willis