Battery Power - July 12: Braves 4, Mets 1Your one stop shop for everything Atlanta Braveshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52890/favicon-32x32..png2022-07-12T22:43:08-04:00http://www.batterypower.com/rss/stream/229699832022-07-12T22:43:08-04:002022-07-12T22:43:08-04:00Olson and Duvall both bring the bats as Braves beat Mets, 4-1
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<img alt="MLB: New York Mets at Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1vVMfu3XFeOXvqP7_oxzoBTiZFc=/0x0:4063x2709/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71101890/usa_today_18689358.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Matt Olson and Adam Duvall both hit majestic moonshots as Atlanta bounced back with a big win over New York</p> <p id="UvJRxE">Matt Olson and Adam Duvall both brought the power to the lineup tonight, as their home runs helped push the Braves past the Mets for a 4-1 win this evening. </p>
<p id="tFfLDa">The frustration from last night’s game seemingly carried over into tonight’s game, as the Braves were unable to get anything going against New York’s starting pitcher while Atlanta’s starting pitcher was having a rough time getting through the early stages of the game. The Braves only had one hit through the first five innings of this one and while Spencer Strider was doing a good job of getting out of any trouble he found himself in, he was unable to do so in an efficient manner. </p>
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<img alt="New York Mets v Atlanta Braves" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Hz5wvxhPvnhyYvYXvKbIv7ZVSf4=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23763461/1241866126.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>He had 8 strikeouts and had to work like crazy for each one.</figcaption>
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<p id="A4X1el">In fact, Strider left the game with two outs in the fifth inning, and this was after an intentional walk with Francisco Lindor on third base. Lindor got to third after cashing in Brandon Nimmo from first base with a triple — while it was ruled a triple, it didn’t help that Ronald Acuña Jr. sheepishly fielded the ball and ended up having to run it down after it went under his glove. That meant that Tyler Matzek was needed to get the final out with runners at the corners and he pulled it off by getting Luis Guillorme to fly out. </p>
<p id="5vgFH6">Basically, it was time for the Braves to pick themselves up off the mat and start swinging again. David Peterson had completely stymied the Braves up until the sixth inning, which is when he finally showed some vulnerability by walking Dansby Swanson. Matt Olson came up afterwards and barely missed out on what would have surely been extra bases had he kept one of his batted balls fair. This ended up being a positive twist of fate for the Braves, as Olson got another chance at getting a big hit and he didn’t miss on his second chance. On this Buck Moon night, Olson nearly hit it <em>to</em> the moon and suddenly the Braves found themselves ahead for the first time in this series.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Matt Olson crushes one 426 feet to center! 2-1 Braves! <a href="https://t.co/7K5ntZ8yCO">pic.twitter.com/7K5ntZ8yCO</a></p>— Atlanta Braves Radio Network (@BravesRadioNet) <a href="https://twitter.com/BravesRadioNet/status/1547035255181287424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2022</a>
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<p id="j51kbj">Speaking of Bucks, Buck Showalter was basically pulling Peterson from the game as Matt Olson was taking his trip around the base paths. Seth Lugo got the ball and pitched into the seventh inning. The sixth inning ended with no further trouble for Lugo, but the Braves finally got a leadoff baserunner against the Mets in the seventh inning as Travis d’Arnaud led off that frame with a single. Adam Duvall then came up to the plate and while Duvall may not be having the best season of his career at the plate here in 2022, it’s still a very bad idea to hang a slider against this guy. Lugo did just that and Duvall got all of it to give the Braves another two-run homer to push the lead to 4-1. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">DUVAL BRIDGES! Braves lead 4-1 in the 8th <a href="https://t.co/QJFNQMx4SY">pic.twitter.com/QJFNQMx4SY</a></p>— Atlanta Braves Radio Network (@BravesRadioNet) <a href="https://twitter.com/BravesRadioNet/status/1547039380082237440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2022</a>
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<p id="2Hrwwu">Tyler Matzek pitched two really good innings in relief of Spencer Strider, and then Matzek gave way to McHugh. McHugh picked up where Matzek left off and pitched two very nice innings, himself. With the game still 4-1 heading into the ninth inning, A.J. Minter was called upon to close things out for the Braves. Minter made no mistake, as the third “M” of Atlanta’s bullpen made short work of the Mets in the top of the night to pick up the save and bring the Braves back to just 1.5 games behind the team that they just beat. </p>
<p id="zdVDaT">It’s always extremely nice to beat the closest rival near the top of the divisional standings and it’s even better that the Braves were able to do this with another short night from their starter. The bullpen did a fantastic job of lifting Spencer Strider up after his short stint and it also helped that Atlanta’s offense finally broke through for some runs. They may have come on two swings, but they count just the same as if it was an extended rally. Here’s hoping that the power displays from Matt Olson and Adam Duvall (and Austin Riley from Monday) are contagious and we see more of this tomorrow afternoon in the rubber match. It’s been an intense series and the Braves tied it up in emphatic fashion. </p>
https://www.batterypower.com/2022/7/12/23206365/atlanta-braves-new-york-mets-final-score-recap-matt-olson-adam-duvall-home-runs-highlightsDemetrius Bell2022-07-12T18:30:00-04:002022-07-12T18:30:00-04:00Game Thread 7/12/22: Braves vs. Mets
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<figcaption>Photo by Brett Davis/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The saga continues.</p> <p id="QrPev1">Alright, then. Last night was a bit of a bummer (unless you were smart enough to grab yourself a ticket and get one of those replica rings) but tonight’s a new night and there’s a new pitching matchup. Spencer Strider will be getting the ball and he’s been very good over his past three starts. Here’s hoping that he makes it four straight good starts with a banger against the Mets and also here’s hoping we see the Braves offense that we’re used to seeing. Let’s get this win tonight.</p>
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<figcaption>baseballsavant.com</figcaption>
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https://www.batterypower.com/2022/7/12/23205835/game-thread-chat-discussion-atlanta-braves-new-york-metsDemetrius Bell2022-07-12T17:09:42-04:002022-07-12T17:09:42-04:00Kenley Jansen could return Wednesday, Mike Soroka update and more
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<figcaption>Photo by Brett Davis/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Some good news on the injury front for the Atlanta Braves</p> <p id="lFUqRD">Kenley Jansen threw in the outfield for the second straight day as the <a href="https://www.talkingchop.com/">Atlanta Braves</a> prepared to continue their series against the <a href="https://www.amazinavenue.com/">New York Mets</a>. Jansen has been out since June 28 due to an irregular heartbeat, but could return as soon as Wednesday per manager Brian Snitker. </p>
<p id="0QsIEh">“Right now we’re looking at tomorrow,” Snitker said. </p>
<p id="gjwFzY">Atlanta will wrap up a three-game series with New York with an afternoon game Wednesday. Jansen’s return will bring an interesting decision in the bullpen as to who he will replace. Dylan Lee has options, but has pitched well since his promotion. Darren O’Day and Jackson Stephens would appear to be two other options, but it will be interesting to see if Atlanta wants to expose either to waivers. </p>
<p id="HdSakd"><strong>Mike Soroka, Kirby Yates update</strong></p>
<p id="y8sxKM">Mike Soroka’s rehab was delayed after he took a line drive off the knee. However, he has resumed baseball activities and Brian Snitker said that he and Kirby Yates completed side sessions Monday. </p>
<p id="gUEwbW">There still isn’t a timetable for either player, but both could begin a rehab assignment sometime after the All-Star break. </p>
<p id="FLbj0U"><strong>Orlando Arcia, Adam Duvall return to the lineup</strong></p>
<p id="SG2ebJ">Orlando Arcia and Adam Duvall are both back in Tuesday’s lineup against Mets left-hander David Peterson. With Robinson Cano joining the roster, Snitker said that they will use Arcia against left-handed pitching going forward. Arcia is hitting .240/.308/.348 with a 74 wRC+ in his career against left-handers. He has struggled against lefties in a small sample this season hitting .194/.250/.250 with a 39 wRC+. </p>
<p id="fFHXOD">Duvall was placed on the paternity list prior to this past weekend’s series against Washington. He returned to the team Monday, but didn’t appear in Monday’s 4-1 loss. Since Eddie Rosario returned on July 4, Duvall has played in three games including one start. When Rosario was activated, Snitker didn’t want to call it a strict platoon in left, but that is how it has shaken out in the early going. </p>
https://www.batterypower.com/2022/7/12/23205897/atlanta-braves-injury-updates-kenley-jansen-mike-soroka-kirby-yatesKris Willis2022-07-12T16:00:00-04:002022-07-12T16:00:00-04:00What to watch for in Tuesday night’s Mets-Braves game
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<figcaption>Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Mets handling heat; David Peterson’s Maybe Mystery Box?</p> <p id="yNVZGt">The Mets took the first game of the division showdown on Monday night, as the Braves had some unfortunate ball-in-play stuff early, and then faded away late.</p>
<ul>
<li id="vFGeVn">Max Fried: .352 xwOBA, .389 wOBA</li>
<li id="XMsMGY">Max Scherzer: .307 xwOBA, .175 wOBA</li>
<li id="MBw6q1">Braves relievers: .299 xwOBA, .338 wOBA</li>
<li id="n9El3E">Mets relievers: .159 xwOBA, .268 wOBA</li>
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<p id="iehHoF">Tonight is a whole different ballgame, with some other stuff to look for.</p>
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<p id="QuoZP0"><strong>Can the Mets handle extreme heat?</strong></p>
<p id="35puS2">While Spencer Strider is not a one-trick-and-that-trick-is-a-fastball-pony, it’s hard to deny that a lot of his success stems from his high-velocity four-seamer that holds hitters to a .310s xwOBA (league-average is .370ish), while being used about two-thirds of the time.</p>
<p id="EhstuE">This naturally raises the question of what the Mets are going to do about velocity of this ilk. Here’s what I can tell you. The interquartile range (25th to 75th percentile) of Strider’s fastball is 96.8 to 99.8 mph. I’m going to expand that a bit to 96-100 mph, just because the Baseball Savant query tool won’t let me query partial mph values.</p>
<p id="BrxaII">The Mets have seen 764 four-seamers in this range, 20th in MLB by frequency and 22nd by rate. 201 of their PAs (21st in MLB) have ended with a four-seamer in this velocity range. In those PAs:</p>
<ul>
<li id="hyk5VQ">The Mets have the 20th-highest xwOBA (Braves: 2nd) and the 20th-highest wOBA (Braves: 6th).</li>
<li id="VgVEdu">The Mets have the third-highest swing rate (Braves: 8th), including the 12th-highest z-swing rate and the second-highest o-swing (chase) rate (Braves: 7th in o-swing, 15th in z-swing).</li>
<li id="53mdH0">The Mets have the 17th-highest whiff rate (Braves: 4th), including the 12th-highest z-whiff and the fourth-lowest o-whiff (Braves: 4th in z-whiff, 10th in o-whiff).</li>
</ul>
<p id="cCAC5E">None of this should be particularly surprising, but it does set up an interesting challenge for Strider. In short, the Mets are going to swing at his fastballs, especially the ones he spots out of the zone. But they’re not necessarily going to whiff on them, instead fouling them off or garnering weak contact (that hasn’t really paid dividends to date). The Braves’ approach against these fastballs, to sell out and take massive hacks when they think they’re getting a fastball, works better in aggregate... but Strider isn’t facing the Braves, he’s facing the Mets. </p>
<p id="j4KgLs">Will the relatively low propensity to whiff on hard four-seamers frustrate Strider and the Braves? Will the Mets convert it into more soft flares into center? Stay tuned.</p>
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<p id="ejpvVg"><strong>David Peterson’s Mystery Box?</strong></p>
<p id="qlAIiZ">David Peterson has had 11 starts this year. Let’s define a start as “good” if ERA-/FIP-/xFIP- are below 90, “okay” if they’re between 90 and 110, and “bad” if they’re above those numbers. If you do that, then, Peterson looks like this:</p>
<ul>
<li id="5AjrUh">ERA-: 6 good, 0 okay, 5 bad</li>
<li id="i0M7Ru">FIP-: 5 good, 2 okay, 4 bad</li>
<li id="kttuqG">xFIP-: 3 good, 4 okay, 4 bad</li>
</ul>
<p id="XSKEiZ">Is that particularly volatile? </p>
<ul>
<li id="uxg8SZ">Strider, for example, is 6/0/2, 5/2/1, 6/1/1, but he’s also been dominant. </li>
<li id="hYrNIs">What about someone like Charlie Morton? 8/0/9, 6/4/7, 6/4/7. </li>
<li id="dFmDF8">Or Chris Bassitt? 8/2/6, 8/2/6, 8/4/4.</li>
<li id="Vl5VC9">Or Carlos Carrasco? 10/0/7, 9/5/3, 9/4/4.</li>
</ul>
<p id="x7dW1c">The non-Strider guys are there because they have average-y lines right now, like Peterson. This is just a small group, but if you ignore ERA (because oh boy does this make it look lumpy), you get 18-36 percent of Peterson’s starts being “okay,” compared to 20-25ish percent for other guys. </p>
<p id="cYbz55">Which is mostly to say, Peterson’s pitching <em>looks</em> really variable, but that’s kind of pitching in general. Perhaps the only difference in this comparison of Peterson to Morton, Bassitt, and Carrasco is that Peterson has tended to have good outings less frequently so far. In his last three outings, he’s gone 1/1/1 by FIP- and 2/0/1 by xFIP- — the Braves will try to make him 1/1/2 and 2/0/2 in his last four tonight.</p>
https://www.batterypower.com/2022/7/12/23205112/what-to-watch-for-in-tuesday-nights-mets-braves-game-spencer-strider-david-petersonIvan the Great2022-07-12T14:03:14-04:002022-07-12T14:03:14-04:00Spencer Strider hopes to fuel bounce-back performance for Braves against Mets
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<img alt="St. Louis Cardinals v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ksieQJ2GPKWMEbMTBNetEWOI9tU=/0x0:2446x1631/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71100081/1241765385.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Brett Davis/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The Mustache King is back at it and the Braves are going to need him to deal once again tonight.</p> <p id="Sch8T5">Following a loss to kick things off in their series with the Mets, the Braves are looking to bounce right back as the two teams play the middle game of this three-game series. </p>
<p id="HKy4nd">The good news for the Braves is that after Max Fried had a rough outing yesterday, Spencer Strider seems like a prime candidate to get the team back on the winning track. Strider has seamlessly integrated himself into the rotation and his most recent three starts before today have been fantastic. In those three starts, Strider’s gone 18 innings, racked up 30 strikeouts, only walked three batters and has only given up one run. It is absolutely absurd that the Braves only won one of those three games and even in the game that the team won, Strider left with it still being a tight 2-1 game. Let’s not turn Spencer Strider into the flamethrower who gets little-to-no help from his offense for whatever reason. </p>
<p id="TMwXok">Anyways, this will be Strider’s first time facing off against the New York Mets. This should pose as a pretty interesting challenge for Strider if only because of the fact that the Mets are a somewhat strikeout-averse team. New York has the third-lowest strikeout percentage in all of baseball (19.7 percent), while Strider is going into this game with a scarcely-believable 39.1 percent strikeout rate — a number that is tops in baseball among all pitchers with at least 60 innings under their belt so far. The good news for the Braves is that Strider’s already had a similar challenge when it comes to teams with low strikeout rates — the Nationals actually have an even lower strikeout rate (19.3 percent) than the Mets do and Strider ended up fanning 11 Nationals back in June. While New York’s lineup has the potential to do damage, Strider should be up for the challenge. </p>
<p id="ORhuiL">On the other side of things, the Mets are sending David Peterson to the mound to start things off. Atlanta’s actually seen him before during this season — the Braves got him for four runs (three earned) over five innings. Three of those runs came on one swing from the bat of Matt Olson, who hit a skyscraping shot into the bullpen in right field at Citi Field. Considering that Olson donned the Golden Sombrero last night, seeing a dinger like that again would be a sight for sore eyes as far as Braves fans are concerned. </p>
<p id="gFkLMP">Over the course of this season, Peterson hasn’t exactly been spectacular but he’s getting the job done as a back-end rotation guy if all the Mets wanted was to pitch well enough to keep the lineup competitive in whatever game he’s pitching in. If “sneaky good” had a representative, it would be David Peterson. While it’s still going to be a pretty big drop off in quality from Max Scherzer last night to David Peterson tonight, the Braves nonetheless absolutely have to lock in at the plate and get going early and often against Peterson. </p>
<p id="barxS5">Atlanta’s sure to have a sour taste in their mouths after the way last night’s game went. They had chances but couldn’t capitalize on them and also any game where Luis Guillorme hits a home run is going to be a frustrating game no matter what. Hopefully, the offense is consistently doing damage and Spencer Strider has another night where he’s lighting up the radar gun and racking up the K’s as well. It’s a winnable game for the Braves and it’s one that they absolutely need if they want to have a shot at sending the Mets out of town with absolutely no room to spare in the standings. </p>
<h3 id="VCyFpl"><strong>Game Info</strong></h3>
<p id="c8Fq8l"><strong>Game Date/Time: </strong>Tuesday, July 12, 7:20 p.m. ET</p>
<p id="kesg8t"><strong>Location:</strong> Truist Park, Atlanta, Georgia</p>
<p id="crwYGz"><strong>TV: </strong>Bally Sports South</p>
<p id="7McT9P"><strong>Streaming: </strong>MLB.tv</p>
<p id="4My2BN"><strong>Radio:</strong> 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan</p>
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https://www.batterypower.com/2022/7/12/23205545/atlanta-braves-new-york-mets-preview-game-time-tv-channel-radio-streaming-spencer-striderDemetrius Bell