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Chris Sale looks to continue dominance | Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Sale has a 1.97 ERA in his past five starts, and the Braves have score at least five runs in four straight games. The Atlanta Braves are taking on the Arizona Diamondbacks again tonight after a dramatic eleven inning win yesterday. The Braves made the choice to call up Bryce Elder to start the game, and Eddie Rosario to start in LF.
The move ultimately paid off. Elder struggled at the end of his start, but the first five innings looked great. Rosario ended up being one of the tying runs when he singled on two-strikes followed by a Sean Murphy HR.
The Braves have now scored five runs in four straight games for the first time since June Sixteenth. It is also only the fourth time this season that they have had such a streak. This streak will be tested when they face off against the Diamondbacks staff ace Zac Gallen. Gallen is having another excellent season with a 3.06, 3.11 FIP, 1.108 WHIP, and 3.74 strikeout to walk ratio. Interestingly, his strikeouts per nine innings has been exactly 9.4 for three straight seasons.
Gallen was out for almost the entire month of June, returning on the twenty-ninth. Since then, he had a great start against Oakland, but struggled in his last start (July Fourth), in which he gave up three runs and three walks to only four strikeouts in 4.0 innings against the Dodgers.
The good news for the Braves is that Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley have had success against Gallen. In eleven Abs against him, Albies has a .364 average, 1.053 OPS, and one HR. Austin Riley, in ten ABs, has a .400 average, 1.455 OPS, and one HR. Duvall only has three Abs, but has a .333 average against Gallen. Arcia, and Olson have not had success in terms of average against Gallen, but they have both homered against him.
Should the Braves not be able to get to Gallen, they should at least try to work the counts to get him out as early as possible. As was on display last night, the Diamondbacks’ is not a strength of theirs. As a unit, the bullpen has an ERA of 4.43, which is tied for the twenty-fourth in MLB. If we look at xFIP, they stand alone in twenty-fifth.
The Braves will bring 2024 All-Star Chris Sale to the mound. Sale has been fantastic as of late. In fact, according to Statcast’s Weighted Pitching Performance, he ranks sixth among all MLB pitchers.
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Chris Sale’s Weighted Pitching Performance is ranked Sixth
He also has the sixth most strikeouts in MLB. Chris Sale has the best FIP, WHIP, and SO/W ratio among qualified SPs in the National League.
Sale had that terrible start in Oakland on June First in which he gave up eight ERs in 4.0 innings. Since then, he has more than made up for it. In his last five starts he has averaged just over 6.1 innings and had a 1.97 ERA, with forty-five strikeouts to only nine walks. Hitters have had a terrible slash line of .165/.235/.294 against him in that span.
Hopefully Sale can keep up the streak of excellent performances against a lineup that is full of players who have had success against him. Carroll, Grichuk, Gurriel Jr., and Newman all have an OPS north of .726, with each of them facing him at least four times. Grichuk is the one player to really keep an eye on. In twenty at-bats against Sale, he has two HRs, a .300 average, and a .983 OPS.
First pitch is at 9:40 p.m. ET and can be seen on Bally Sports South.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Tuesday, July 9, 9:40 p.m. ET
Location: Chase Field, Phoenix, Az.
TV: Bally Sports South
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan
<img alt="MLB: San Francisco Giants at Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/XTIqxb2E6qbPEmpovtNaFdt2nFo=/326x0:4304x2652/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73451964/usa_today_23674427.0.jpg">
Chris Sale looks to continue dominance | Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Sale has a 1.97 ERA in his past five starts, and the Braves have score at least five runs in four straight games. The Atlanta Braves are taking on the Arizona Diamondbacks again tonight after a dramatic eleven inning win yesterday. The Braves made the choice to call up Bryce Elder to start the game, and Eddie Rosario to start in LF.
The move ultimately paid off. Elder struggled at the end of his start, but the first five innings looked great. Rosario ended up being one of the tying runs when he singled on two-strikes followed by a Sean Murphy HR.
The Braves have now scored five runs in four straight games for the first time since June Sixteenth. It is also only the fourth time this season that they have had such a streak. This streak will be tested when they face off against the Diamondbacks staff ace Zac Gallen. Gallen is having another excellent season with a 3.06, 3.11 FIP, 1.108 WHIP, and 3.74 strikeout to walk ratio. Interestingly, his strikeouts per nine innings has been exactly 9.4 for three straight seasons.
Gallen was out for almost the entire month of June, returning on the twenty-ninth. Since then, he had a great start against Oakland, but struggled in his last start (July Fourth), in which he gave up three runs and three walks to only four strikeouts in 4.0 innings against the Dodgers.
The good news for the Braves is that Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley have had success against Gallen. In eleven Abs against him, Albies has a .364 average, 1.053 OPS, and one HR. Austin Riley, in ten ABs, has a .400 average, 1.455 OPS, and one HR. Duvall only has three Abs, but has a .333 average against Gallen. Arcia, and Olson have not had success in terms of average against Gallen, but they have both homered against him.
Should the Braves not be able to get to Gallen, they should at least try to work the counts to get him out as early as possible. As was on display last night, the Diamondbacks’ is not a strength of theirs. As a unit, the bullpen has an ERA of 4.43, which is tied for the twenty-fourth in MLB. If we look at xFIP, they stand alone in twenty-fifth.
The Braves will bring 2024 All-Star Chris Sale to the mound. Sale has been fantastic as of late. In fact, according to Statcast’s Weighted Pitching Performance, he ranks sixth among all MLB pitchers.
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/od8fNkc_ALR1CP-uvAo6Z45CDLA=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25523256/CS.PNG">
Chris Sale’s Weighted Pitching Performance is ranked Sixth
He also has the sixth most strikeouts in MLB. Chris Sale has the best FIP, WHIP, and SO/W ratio among qualified SPs in the National League.
Sale had that terrible start in Oakland on June First in which he gave up eight ERs in 4.0 innings. Since then, he has more than made up for it. In his last five starts he has averaged just over 6.1 innings and had a 1.97 ERA, with forty-five strikeouts to only nine walks. Hitters have had a terrible slash line of .165/.235/.294 against him in that span.
Hopefully Sale can keep up the streak of excellent performances against a lineup that is full of players who have had success against him. Carroll, Grichuk, Gurriel Jr., and Newman all have an OPS north of .726, with each of them facing him at least four times. Grichuk is the one player to really keep an eye on. In twenty at-bats against Sale, he has two HRs, a .300 average, and a .983 OPS.
First pitch is at 9:40 p.m. ET and can be seen on Bally Sports South.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Tuesday, July 9, 9:40 p.m. ET
Location: Chase Field, Phoenix, Az.
TV: Bally Sports South
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan
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