<img alt="MLB: JUN 30 Pirates at Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/psmRcnobAOOeQhvpzXrKgkI22GU=/0x0:3600x2400/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73436521/2159405886.0.jpg">
Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Spencer Schwellenbach gave up two homers the third time through, and that was it Spencer Schwellenbach’s MLB debut turned sour when he gave up a three-run homer the third time through the order. Though he largely avoided specific third time through struggles in the four starts since, they came back with a swift vengeance on Sunday afternoon against the Pirates. After carving up the Pittsburgh offense for four innings, Schwellenbach ended up yielding two two-run homers in the span of about five minutes, which doomed the Braves and denied them a series sweep in a 4-2 loss.
For the first while, this game was more or less a pitching duel between Schwellenbach and Pirates starter Bailey Falter. Schwellenbach struck out the first two batters he faced, then gave up a walk and an infield single, and got a groundout to end his first frame. The Braves also made two quick outs, but then Marcell Ozuna barreled a double and Matt Olson walked. Unfortunately, Austin Riley managed just a weak pop to right to end the inning.
The next four half-innings featured just an infield single; Falter struck out the side in the second and got three flyouts in the third. A two-out double by Nick Gonzales in the fourth was followed by a rare Orlando Arcia flub at shortstop, but Schwellenbach froze Jared Triolo on a called strike three to escape the jam.
The Braves opened the scoring in the bottom of the fourth with a leadoff walk by Ozuna, an opposite field liner by Olson that put runners on the corners, and a double play ball by Riley that scored Ozuna. Falter then walked Adam Duvall, but struck out Sean Murphy.
Unfortunately, Schwellenbach couldn’t hold that lead. A curveball that barely grazed ninth-place hitter Jack Suwinski was ruled a hit-by-pitch on replay review, and there was a brief hope that Schwellenbach might just keep rolling as he caught both Andrew McCutchen and Bryan Reynolds looking. But, with two outs, Oneil Cruz destroyed a get-me-over, first pitch down the middle cutter for a 452 no-doubter to right, turning the game around. After Schwellenbach walked Olivares, he hung three pitches to Rowdy Tellez, and Tellez knocked the third one, a splitter in the same location as the prior pitch, for another no-doubter into the stands. In the span of a commercial break and a few minutes, the Braves went from leading 1-0 to down 4-1.
Falter issued a leadoff walk to Arcia in the bottom of the fifth, but Luke Williams, whose starting role in this game is some sort of uber-comment on the Braves’ season to this point, hit into another twin killing.
In the end, Schwellenbach ended up lasting five frames with a 7/2 K/BB ratio and the two homers allowed. Things would’ve looked real nice had he been done after 18 batters, but the alarm on my phone inevitably ruins all my nice dreams, and so it goes. Falter, despite having a bit of a reversal of fortune in his last few starts, had a typical-for-Falter-in-2024 outing, where he was only charged with a single run despite a weak 5/4 K/BB ratio.
Once the bullpens took over, the game flew by. Grant Holmes fired three innings with three strikeouts, zero walks, and just a harmless two-out single mixed in. Aaron Bummer threw a perfect frame of his own with a strikeout. Kyle Nicolas threw a perfect frame in the sixth in relief of Falter. In the seventh, the Braves threatened with a leadoff walk and a one-out bouncer down the first-base line by Riley that put runners on the corners, but it didn’t matter because Arcia struck out and pinch-hitter Travis d’Arnaud grounded out. A one-out single against Carmen Mlodzinski similarly amounted to nothing in the eighth.
The Braves attempted to rally against Aroldis Chapman in the ninth, but couldn’t complete the comeback. An infield single by Duvall and a double by Murphy brought the tying run to the plate, but that run happened to be in the form of Orlando Arcia, who was robbed of a bloop single by Michael A. Taylor in center, and then in the form of pinch-hitter Zack Short, who had a hard groundout to end the game.
While this game also probably featured an xwOBA underperformance by the Braves, like pretty much all games these days, they also got out-barreled by the Pirates, so it’s not quite as irritating a loss as most of their other games recently. It’s not surprising that the Braves let Schwellenbach go out there in the fifth given how they operate and the fact that he was rolling, but clearly there’s more development to be done there for a guy that’s still learning on the job — and honestly, who doesn’t struggle with the times through the order penalty these days?
The Braves will now get a nice home off-day before welcoming the Giants in for three games, before they head off to Philadelphia for a “big” weekend July matchup.
<img alt="MLB: JUN 30 Pirates at Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/psmRcnobAOOeQhvpzXrKgkI22GU=/0x0:3600x2400/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73436521/2159405886.0.jpg">
Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Spencer Schwellenbach gave up two homers the third time through, and that was it Spencer Schwellenbach’s MLB debut turned sour when he gave up a three-run homer the third time through the order. Though he largely avoided specific third time through struggles in the four starts since, they came back with a swift vengeance on Sunday afternoon against the Pirates. After carving up the Pittsburgh offense for four innings, Schwellenbach ended up yielding two two-run homers in the span of about five minutes, which doomed the Braves and denied them a series sweep in a 4-2 loss.
For the first while, this game was more or less a pitching duel between Schwellenbach and Pirates starter Bailey Falter. Schwellenbach struck out the first two batters he faced, then gave up a walk and an infield single, and got a groundout to end his first frame. The Braves also made two quick outs, but then Marcell Ozuna barreled a double and Matt Olson walked. Unfortunately, Austin Riley managed just a weak pop to right to end the inning.
The next four half-innings featured just an infield single; Falter struck out the side in the second and got three flyouts in the third. A two-out double by Nick Gonzales in the fourth was followed by a rare Orlando Arcia flub at shortstop, but Schwellenbach froze Jared Triolo on a called strike three to escape the jam.
The Braves opened the scoring in the bottom of the fourth with a leadoff walk by Ozuna, an opposite field liner by Olson that put runners on the corners, and a double play ball by Riley that scored Ozuna. Falter then walked Adam Duvall, but struck out Sean Murphy.
Unfortunately, Schwellenbach couldn’t hold that lead. A curveball that barely grazed ninth-place hitter Jack Suwinski was ruled a hit-by-pitch on replay review, and there was a brief hope that Schwellenbach might just keep rolling as he caught both Andrew McCutchen and Bryan Reynolds looking. But, with two outs, Oneil Cruz destroyed a get-me-over, first pitch down the middle cutter for a 452 no-doubter to right, turning the game around. After Schwellenbach walked Olivares, he hung three pitches to Rowdy Tellez, and Tellez knocked the third one, a splitter in the same location as the prior pitch, for another no-doubter into the stands. In the span of a commercial break and a few minutes, the Braves went from leading 1-0 to down 4-1.
Falter issued a leadoff walk to Arcia in the bottom of the fifth, but Luke Williams, whose starting role in this game is some sort of uber-comment on the Braves’ season to this point, hit into another twin killing.
In the end, Schwellenbach ended up lasting five frames with a 7/2 K/BB ratio and the two homers allowed. Things would’ve looked real nice had he been done after 18 batters, but the alarm on my phone inevitably ruins all my nice dreams, and so it goes. Falter, despite having a bit of a reversal of fortune in his last few starts, had a typical-for-Falter-in-2024 outing, where he was only charged with a single run despite a weak 5/4 K/BB ratio.
Once the bullpens took over, the game flew by. Grant Holmes fired three innings with three strikeouts, zero walks, and just a harmless two-out single mixed in. Aaron Bummer threw a perfect frame of his own with a strikeout. Kyle Nicolas threw a perfect frame in the sixth in relief of Falter. In the seventh, the Braves threatened with a leadoff walk and a one-out bouncer down the first-base line by Riley that put runners on the corners, but it didn’t matter because Arcia struck out and pinch-hitter Travis d’Arnaud grounded out. A one-out single against Carmen Mlodzinski similarly amounted to nothing in the eighth.
The Braves attempted to rally against Aroldis Chapman in the ninth, but couldn’t complete the comeback. An infield single by Duvall and a double by Murphy brought the tying run to the plate, but that run happened to be in the form of Orlando Arcia, who was robbed of a bloop single by Michael A. Taylor in center, and then in the form of pinch-hitter Zack Short, who had a hard groundout to end the game.
While this game also probably featured an xwOBA underperformance by the Braves, like pretty much all games these days, they also got out-barreled by the Pirates, so it’s not quite as irritating a loss as most of their other games recently. It’s not surprising that the Braves let Schwellenbach go out there in the fifth given how they operate and the fact that he was rolling, but clearly there’s more development to be done there for a guy that’s still learning on the job — and honestly, who doesn’t struggle with the times through the order penalty these days?
The Braves will now get a nice home off-day before welcoming the Giants in for three games, before they head off to Philadelphia for a “big” weekend July matchup.
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