<img alt="Atlanta Braves v Minnesota Twins" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cmBy4FLicJd1U4UD4UX3U5Gt5jk=/0x0:5655x3770/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73595829/2170410960.0.jpg">
Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images
Atlanta’s star pitcher needs to be a star today in order to push the Braves to victory The Atlanta Braves ended their unfortunately-timed losing streak at three games but that’s not enough at this point. They’ve got to string together a streak of wins if they want to stick around and stay competitive in the Postseason race and it’s got to start today against the Cincinnati Reds in this series finale.
The good news for the Braves is that they finally managed to figure out a way to beat the Reds last night. In even better news, Chris Sale is going for the Braves this afternoon. Chris Sale has proven time-and-time again this season that he’s the star of this rotation here in 2024 and he’s also the class of baseball when it comes to pitching in general. I know I sound like a broken record here but he’s a shoo-in to win the NL Cy Young award and he’s going to have a decent shot at getting NL MVP votes as well.
He’s definitely been extremely important for the Braves in terms of keeping them alive this season. Atlanta’s record with him on the mound is stellar and it’s easy to see why. Sale is heading into this game with an ERA- of 56 and a FIP- of 51. Somehow, that’s not a career-best for Sale (which lets you know just how good he was a few years back, especially in 2018) but it’s the telltale sign of an elite pitcher. His Baseball Savant page is also about as red as a Nebraska football home game, so there’s that. Sale has been fantastic this season and it’s tough to imagine that things are going to change all of a sudden today. It’s possible but I’d count more on Sale being great again than anything else.
While Chris Sale has clearly established himself as one of baseball’s current greats, his counterpart starting for Cincinnati this afternoon is only just started his quest to make a name for himself. Julian Aguiar is set to make his seventh-career big league start and if you look at his stats at first glance, you’d think he’s had a serious struggle in order to get used to the big leagues. In one start in particular, that was the case as the Oakland A’s tagged him for 10 hits, three homers and a grand total of six runs over just four innings. That was easily his worst start so far and it’s skewed his stats so far.
Take away that game and Aguiar has been perfectly fine so far. Outside of that disaster, the most runs he’s given up in any given start is three, which is what happened when he made it into the seventh inning against the Twins in his most recent outing on September 13. Aguiar’s got a sinker-changeup-slider-curveball arsenal and he’s done a good job of limiting Hard-Hit percentage and high exit velocity so far. He’s really been leaning on that sinker but his changeup has been pretty effective when he chooses to break it out, so that’ll be worth keeping an eye on.
Cincinnati’s pitching has been excellent recently, which makes what Atlanta’s offense has done in this series so far pretty impressive. The past two games where the Braves scored five and seven runs, respectively, is the first time they’ve given up at least that many runs in consecutive games since their series with the Oakland A’s at the tail-end of August. The A’s were able to keep that up for the entire series (and the Brewers extended that pain in the series after that), so here’s hoping that the Braves can keep it going and give Chris Sale plenty of run support in this one.
As usual, it’s crucial for the Braves to pick up a win here and it’s not just because they need to help themselves (which is the most important thing). While the Padres are off (for real this time), both the Mets and Diamondbacks are set to face off against tougher competition over the next four days. The Mets will be starting a four-game series with the Phillies and Arizona is starting one with the Brewers. While today might be tricky for Milwaukee since it’s Hangover Day for them after they clinched the NL Central last night, the Phillies are still looking to finish up their business.
With all of that being said, none of this matters if the Braves don’t take care for their own business. They absolutely need to pick up this win today and with baseball’s best starter going for them this afternoon, the Braves won’t have many excuses if they can’t pull off the win today. It’s got to happen and the Braves have no choice but to make it happen if they want to make the Postseason.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Thursday, September 19, 1:10 p.m. ET
Location: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, OH
TV: Bally Sports South
Streaming: MLB.tv (Free Game of the Day)
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan
<img alt="Atlanta Braves v Minnesota Twins" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cmBy4FLicJd1U4UD4UX3U5Gt5jk=/0x0:5655x3770/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73595829/2170410960.0.jpg">
Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images
Atlanta’s star pitcher needs to be a star today in order to push the Braves to victory The Atlanta Braves ended their unfortunately-timed losing streak at three games but that’s not enough at this point. They’ve got to string together a streak of wins if they want to stick around and stay competitive in the Postseason race and it’s got to start today against the Cincinnati Reds in this series finale.
The good news for the Braves is that they finally managed to figure out a way to beat the Reds last night. In even better news, Chris Sale is going for the Braves this afternoon. Chris Sale has proven time-and-time again this season that he’s the star of this rotation here in 2024 and he’s also the class of baseball when it comes to pitching in general. I know I sound like a broken record here but he’s a shoo-in to win the NL Cy Young award and he’s going to have a decent shot at getting NL MVP votes as well.
He’s definitely been extremely important for the Braves in terms of keeping them alive this season. Atlanta’s record with him on the mound is stellar and it’s easy to see why. Sale is heading into this game with an ERA- of 56 and a FIP- of 51. Somehow, that’s not a career-best for Sale (which lets you know just how good he was a few years back, especially in 2018) but it’s the telltale sign of an elite pitcher. His Baseball Savant page is also about as red as a Nebraska football home game, so there’s that. Sale has been fantastic this season and it’s tough to imagine that things are going to change all of a sudden today. It’s possible but I’d count more on Sale being great again than anything else.
While Chris Sale has clearly established himself as one of baseball’s current greats, his counterpart starting for Cincinnati this afternoon is only just started his quest to make a name for himself. Julian Aguiar is set to make his seventh-career big league start and if you look at his stats at first glance, you’d think he’s had a serious struggle in order to get used to the big leagues. In one start in particular, that was the case as the Oakland A’s tagged him for 10 hits, three homers and a grand total of six runs over just four innings. That was easily his worst start so far and it’s skewed his stats so far.
Take away that game and Aguiar has been perfectly fine so far. Outside of that disaster, the most runs he’s given up in any given start is three, which is what happened when he made it into the seventh inning against the Twins in his most recent outing on September 13. Aguiar’s got a sinker-changeup-slider-curveball arsenal and he’s done a good job of limiting Hard-Hit percentage and high exit velocity so far. He’s really been leaning on that sinker but his changeup has been pretty effective when he chooses to break it out, so that’ll be worth keeping an eye on.
Cincinnati’s pitching has been excellent recently, which makes what Atlanta’s offense has done in this series so far pretty impressive. The past two games where the Braves scored five and seven runs, respectively, is the first time they’ve given up at least that many runs in consecutive games since their series with the Oakland A’s at the tail-end of August. The A’s were able to keep that up for the entire series (and the Brewers extended that pain in the series after that), so here’s hoping that the Braves can keep it going and give Chris Sale plenty of run support in this one.
As usual, it’s crucial for the Braves to pick up a win here and it’s not just because they need to help themselves (which is the most important thing). While the Padres are off (for real this time), both the Mets and Diamondbacks are set to face off against tougher competition over the next four days. The Mets will be starting a four-game series with the Phillies and Arizona is starting one with the Brewers. While today might be tricky for Milwaukee since it’s Hangover Day for them after they clinched the NL Central last night, the Phillies are still looking to finish up their business.
With all of that being said, none of this matters if the Braves don’t take care for their own business. They absolutely need to pick up this win today and with baseball’s best starter going for them this afternoon, the Braves won’t have many excuses if they can’t pull off the win today. It’s got to happen and the Braves have no choice but to make it happen if they want to make the Postseason.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Thursday, September 19, 1:10 p.m. ET
Location: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, OH
TV: Bally Sports South
Streaming: MLB.tv (Free Game of the Day)
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan
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