<img alt="Atlanta Braves v Los Angeles Angels" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gT-zRxfIIoItn3pdJOmCLyiYu6k=/0x0:6837x4558/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73529477/2166663624.0.jpg">
Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images
Atlanta took two of three in Anaheim and wrapped up a three-city road trip with a 6-4 record. The Atlanta Braves finished off a three-city road trip with a series win against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday, but may have seen yet another key player go down with an injury in the process. Austin Riley was hit in the hand or wrist area during the first inning of Sunday’s 3-1 win in Anaheim and was forced to leave the game. Brian Snitker told reporters afterwards that tests were inconclusive and Riley would be further examined after the team gets back to Atlanta.
Other than that unfortunate situation, Sunday was a good day for the Braves as the Phillies, Padres, Diamondbacks and Mets all lost. Atlanta is now 7.0 games behind Philadelphia in the NL East standings and will play them seven times over their next 13 games. The Braves are now 3.5 games behind the Padres, 2.5 behind the Diamondbacks and are 2.0 games up on the New York Mets in the Wild Card race.
Rare series against Angels
The Braves are 13-11 against the Angels since Interleague Play began in 1997. They are 6-6 all-time at Angel Stadium. The only team Atlanta has faced fewer times is the Kansas City Royals.
Marcell Ozuna Triple Crown chase
Marcell Ozuna had two more hits in Sunday’s game and was 8-for-10 with a homer in the three games against the Angels. Ozuna now leads the National League in batting average at .309 and RBI with 93. He is second behind Shohei Ohtani with 36 home runs.
The last player to win the Triple Crown was the Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera back in 2012. There hasn’t been a Triple Crown winner in the National League since Joe Medwick in 1937.
Chris Sale Cy Young watch
Chris Sale was charged with two runs and struck out 10 over six innings in Saturday’s 11-3 win over the Angels, further strengthening his Cy Young credentials. Sale’s entire body of work is impressive. He leads all starters with 5.2 fWAR. He also leads the NL in ERA (2.62), FIP (2.06), xFIP (2.47), strikeout percentage (33.6 percent) and strikeouts (187). If you are into old school stats, he is tied for the major league lead with 14 wins.
It is hard to imagine where the Braves might be without Sale. Not enough has been said about the offseason trade that brought him over from Boston. Despite being one of the best pitchers in the American League during the early part of his career, Sale has never won a Cy Young Award. He may take home the prize in his first season in the National League.
Statcast numbers
If Riley is seriously injured, he would just be the latest key player for the Braves to go down for a substantial period of time. While injuries are something that every team has to deal with, perhaps the most frustrating part of the 2024 season for Atlanta has been their offensive underperformance.
To further illustrate their bad luck, Atlanta entered Sunday leading the majors in average exit velocity (90.2 mph) and lead the National League in hard hit percentage (42.9%) and barrels (309). After last season, that is about where you would expect this offense to be. However, the Braves are just 16th in runs scored in 2024.
A big part of that is that Atlanta is batting just .677 on barreled balls which is the fifth-lowest hit rate in baseball. For context, league average for barrels is .713 and Boston leads the majors with a .775 mark. Entering play Sunday, the Braves had made 104 outs on balls that were barreled.
Hitting streak ends for Michael Harris II
Michael Harris II went hitless on Sunday, snapping his nine-game hitting streak that dated back to before he suffered the hamstring injury that cost him two months of the season. Harris still reached base twice in Sunday’s win and has done so in all five games since returning from the shelf. Through his first five games back, Harris is 6-for-22 with a homer and has driven in six runs. He has struck out seven times, but he’s given the team a jolt in the outfield that they desperately needed.
<img alt="Atlanta Braves v Los Angeles Angels" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gT-zRxfIIoItn3pdJOmCLyiYu6k=/0x0:6837x4558/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73529477/2166663624.0.jpg">
Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images
Atlanta took two of three in Anaheim and wrapped up a three-city road trip with a 6-4 record. The Atlanta Braves finished off a three-city road trip with a series win against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday, but may have seen yet another key player go down with an injury in the process. Austin Riley was hit in the hand or wrist area during the first inning of Sunday’s 3-1 win in Anaheim and was forced to leave the game. Brian Snitker told reporters afterwards that tests were inconclusive and Riley would be further examined after the team gets back to Atlanta.
Other than that unfortunate situation, Sunday was a good day for the Braves as the Phillies, Padres, Diamondbacks and Mets all lost. Atlanta is now 7.0 games behind Philadelphia in the NL East standings and will play them seven times over their next 13 games. The Braves are now 3.5 games behind the Padres, 2.5 behind the Diamondbacks and are 2.0 games up on the New York Mets in the Wild Card race.
Rare series against Angels
The Braves are 13-11 against the Angels since Interleague Play began in 1997. They are 6-6 all-time at Angel Stadium. The only team Atlanta has faced fewer times is the Kansas City Royals.
Marcell Ozuna Triple Crown chase
Marcell Ozuna had two more hits in Sunday’s game and was 8-for-10 with a homer in the three games against the Angels. Ozuna now leads the National League in batting average at .309 and RBI with 93. He is second behind Shohei Ohtani with 36 home runs.
The last player to win the Triple Crown was the Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera back in 2012. There hasn’t been a Triple Crown winner in the National League since Joe Medwick in 1937.
Chris Sale Cy Young watch
Chris Sale was charged with two runs and struck out 10 over six innings in Saturday’s 11-3 win over the Angels, further strengthening his Cy Young credentials. Sale’s entire body of work is impressive. He leads all starters with 5.2 fWAR. He also leads the NL in ERA (2.62), FIP (2.06), xFIP (2.47), strikeout percentage (33.6 percent) and strikeouts (187). If you are into old school stats, he is tied for the major league lead with 14 wins.
It is hard to imagine where the Braves might be without Sale. Not enough has been said about the offseason trade that brought him over from Boston. Despite being one of the best pitchers in the American League during the early part of his career, Sale has never won a Cy Young Award. He may take home the prize in his first season in the National League.
Statcast numbers
If Riley is seriously injured, he would just be the latest key player for the Braves to go down for a substantial period of time. While injuries are something that every team has to deal with, perhaps the most frustrating part of the 2024 season for Atlanta has been their offensive underperformance.
To further illustrate their bad luck, Atlanta entered Sunday leading the majors in average exit velocity (90.2 mph) and lead the National League in hard hit percentage (42.9%) and barrels (309). After last season, that is about where you would expect this offense to be. However, the Braves are just 16th in runs scored in 2024.
A big part of that is that Atlanta is batting just .677 on barreled balls which is the fifth-lowest hit rate in baseball. For context, league average for barrels is .713 and Boston leads the majors with a .775 mark. Entering play Sunday, the Braves had made 104 outs on balls that were barreled.
Hitting streak ends for Michael Harris II
Michael Harris II went hitless on Sunday, snapping his nine-game hitting streak that dated back to before he suffered the hamstring injury that cost him two months of the season. Harris still reached base twice in Sunday’s win and has done so in all five games since returning from the shelf. Through his first five games back, Harris is 6-for-22 with a homer and has driven in six runs. He has struck out seven times, but he’s given the team a jolt in the outfield that they desperately needed.
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