<img alt="San Diego Padres v Atlanta Braves - Game Two" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VSUhsDtaOycTSf86i4LPVKio4vw=/0x0:7149x4766/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73442880/2153380654.0.jpg">
Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images
Chris Sale has been having a resurgent season on the mound. Hopefully it’ll be able to continue as he faces San Francisco tonight. Having lost two straight games after dropping the series finale against the Pirates and then the subsequent series opener against the San Francisco Giants, the Atlanta Braves are now trying to make sure that they don’t go on another uncharacteristic streak of at least three losses in a row.
I say it’s uncharacteristic but as far as this season has gone for the Braves, it’s actually been relatively normal for them to go on an “extended slide.” It happened seven times all season in 2023 where the Braves lost at least three games in a row — meanwhile, it’s already happened three times so far here in 2024 for Atlanta and they’ll be desperately trying to make sure that it doesn’t go up to a fourth streak of that kind already.
Fortunately, they’ve got a pretty solid candidate on the mound to help make sure that that doesn’t happen. Chris Sale is getting the ball for the Braves and he’s in the midst of a resurgent (and healthy) season that has seen him on track for the type of season that he hasn’t had since his peak in Boston. If you don’t believe me then just take a look at his StatCast page. Just red for as far as the eye can see. You love to see it.
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ps4A4l_f1dF_qqFz0p4ecMm_6qI=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25517122/sale_july_2024.png">
baseballsavant.mlb.com
Whew!!!
Sale will be heading into this start off the strength of four really good starts in a row, which are seemingly in response to that weird start he had on June 1 where he gave up eight runs against the Oakland A’s, of all teams. Outside of that off-day, Sale has been excellent for the Braves so far this season. It sure would help if he got some run support — while two of his past four starts did result in runaway wins for the Braves, those two wins were sandwiched between two seven-inning starts where Sale gave up only three runs between those two starts but the Braves lost because they scored a grand total of one (1) run in those two games. So as usual, it’s on the offense to hopefully meet the pitching where they’re at.
As far as Atlanta’s offense is concerned, they’ll be tasked with dealing with Jordan Hicks as the starter for San Francisco. Hicks has been having a very interesting season in that his ERA- is telling you one thing while his FIP- is telling you a completely different story. His ERA- is at 86, which would normally suggest that this is a tough customer for any lineup to deal with. Hicks does have a very high ground ball rate (he’s currently in the 86th percentile in that regard) so if he does manage to keep the ball on the ground against Atlanta then you’ll be able to tell that he’s in his comfort zone.
However, Hicks’ FIP- is at 109, which is a pretty big split to have between a FIP- and a ERA-. Hicks leans on his sinker as his most utilized pitch but it’s also the pitch that’s gotten him hit the hardest. Opposing hitters have both a batting average and expected batting average of .320 against his sinker, he doesn’t really miss a ton of bats with the pitch and he’s not really using it as a serious put away pitch, either. It’s kind of weird and also kind of explains how he can have nights where he can pitch five scoreless innings (like he did on June 17 against the Cubs) and then immediately follow it up with giving up five runs over four innings in his very next start. Hicks has mostly been solid for the Giants so far this season but he has shown himself to be vulnerable and hopefully the Braves will be able to find and exploit any vulnerabilities that are exposed this evening.
As usual, the middle game in any series figures to be very crucial. For the Braves, they’re hoping to limit their skid to just two games. Meanwhile, the Giants are looking to join the other National League clubs who are slowly but surely starting to climb to and over .500 here in the middle of the season. It looks like we’ll be in for a fun one tonight.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Wednesday, July 3, 7:20 p.m. ET
Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, Georgia
TV: Bally Sports South
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan
<img alt="San Diego Padres v Atlanta Braves - Game Two" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VSUhsDtaOycTSf86i4LPVKio4vw=/0x0:7149x4766/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73442880/2153380654.0.jpg">
Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images
Chris Sale has been having a resurgent season on the mound. Hopefully it’ll be able to continue as he faces San Francisco tonight. Having lost two straight games after dropping the series finale against the Pirates and then the subsequent series opener against the San Francisco Giants, the Atlanta Braves are now trying to make sure that they don’t go on another uncharacteristic streak of at least three losses in a row.
I say it’s uncharacteristic but as far as this season has gone for the Braves, it’s actually been relatively normal for them to go on an “extended slide.” It happened seven times all season in 2023 where the Braves lost at least three games in a row — meanwhile, it’s already happened three times so far here in 2024 for Atlanta and they’ll be desperately trying to make sure that it doesn’t go up to a fourth streak of that kind already.
Fortunately, they’ve got a pretty solid candidate on the mound to help make sure that that doesn’t happen. Chris Sale is getting the ball for the Braves and he’s in the midst of a resurgent (and healthy) season that has seen him on track for the type of season that he hasn’t had since his peak in Boston. If you don’t believe me then just take a look at his StatCast page. Just red for as far as the eye can see. You love to see it.
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ps4A4l_f1dF_qqFz0p4ecMm_6qI=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25517122/sale_july_2024.png">
baseballsavant.mlb.com
Whew!!!
Sale will be heading into this start off the strength of four really good starts in a row, which are seemingly in response to that weird start he had on June 1 where he gave up eight runs against the Oakland A’s, of all teams. Outside of that off-day, Sale has been excellent for the Braves so far this season. It sure would help if he got some run support — while two of his past four starts did result in runaway wins for the Braves, those two wins were sandwiched between two seven-inning starts where Sale gave up only three runs between those two starts but the Braves lost because they scored a grand total of one (1) run in those two games. So as usual, it’s on the offense to hopefully meet the pitching where they’re at.
As far as Atlanta’s offense is concerned, they’ll be tasked with dealing with Jordan Hicks as the starter for San Francisco. Hicks has been having a very interesting season in that his ERA- is telling you one thing while his FIP- is telling you a completely different story. His ERA- is at 86, which would normally suggest that this is a tough customer for any lineup to deal with. Hicks does have a very high ground ball rate (he’s currently in the 86th percentile in that regard) so if he does manage to keep the ball on the ground against Atlanta then you’ll be able to tell that he’s in his comfort zone.
However, Hicks’ FIP- is at 109, which is a pretty big split to have between a FIP- and a ERA-. Hicks leans on his sinker as his most utilized pitch but it’s also the pitch that’s gotten him hit the hardest. Opposing hitters have both a batting average and expected batting average of .320 against his sinker, he doesn’t really miss a ton of bats with the pitch and he’s not really using it as a serious put away pitch, either. It’s kind of weird and also kind of explains how he can have nights where he can pitch five scoreless innings (like he did on June 17 against the Cubs) and then immediately follow it up with giving up five runs over four innings in his very next start. Hicks has mostly been solid for the Giants so far this season but he has shown himself to be vulnerable and hopefully the Braves will be able to find and exploit any vulnerabilities that are exposed this evening.
As usual, the middle game in any series figures to be very crucial. For the Braves, they’re hoping to limit their skid to just two games. Meanwhile, the Giants are looking to join the other National League clubs who are slowly but surely starting to climb to and over .500 here in the middle of the season. It looks like we’ll be in for a fun one tonight.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Wednesday, July 3, 7:20 p.m. ET
Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, Georgia
TV: Bally Sports South
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan
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