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ST. LOUIS – While securing their first record of wins in 2021 with a three-game sweep in St. Louis this week, the Braves have made it clear that they are no longer the same infuriating group that worked for the first four months of this season. season and sort of stayed in the thick of the National League East race.
There were reasons for the Braves to feel some relief as they finally broke the 0.500 mark with an 8-4 win over the Cardinals on Thursday night at Busch Stadium. They got another big homerun from Austin Riley, then finished their decisive six-point eighth inning shooting four straight walks.
“It was really weird, I’m not going to lie,” Riley said. “Bases loaded and then they walk [four] guys. It doesn’t happen that often. But I feel very lucky and grateful that we were able to get three [wins] in a row and hopefully get that momentum we need.
The momentum had been an alien idea for the Braves, who played 18 games after the all-star break before finally winning two in a row. They followed up Wednesday night’s win by leaving that series with their first three-game winning streak since July 10.
It took 109 games for the Braves to clinch their first record of victories (55-54). But bolstered by key Trade Deadline acquisitions last week and bolstered by the MVP-caliber production Riley and Freddie Freeman provided, there’s reason to think that a fourth consecutive NL East title could be quite the thing. feasible. Atlanta is only 1 1/2 games behind the Mets in first place.
“Hopefully we can get a few more above .500 so I don’t even have to talk about it,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said with a chuckle. “I didn’t put much into it, honestly. I wish we were 10 years old [games] finished, but we are not. I like where we are. We are here in the race.
Riley is one of the main reasons the Braves have managed to persevere without the presence of Ronald Acuña Jr., Marcell Ozuna and Travis d’Arnaud. The 24-year-old third baseman has hit 0.352 with nine home runs and an OPS of 1.161 in 24 games since July 7.
The last of those home runs – his 23rd of the season and his eighth in his last 13 games – would have been perhaps the most influential. Riley fell behind, 1-2, on Giovanny Gallegos and took a slider in the dirt before girding the hanging slider that followed to tie the game at 4.
“He was a really good batting,” said Snitker. “He made a mistake on a pitch or two. I was sitting there thinking, ‘Dude, he sees this guy pretty well.’ It was huge from where we were and it’s a big win.
The Braves then took a four-point lead without putting the ball into play. After Dansby Swanson followed Riley’s home run with a brace, Gallegos was replaced by Alex Reyes, who recorded a strike with just four of his 21. throws.
“[Reyes] is a very, very good pitcher, ”said Vogt. “Sometimes he has a tendency to throw the ball out of the zone. We were very patient and made it come to the plate. Fortunately, we were able to take advantage of it and give ourselves a pretty good cushion. “
Vogt gave the go-ahead for sacrifice in Wednesday night’s win and has been solid at the receiver since being acquired from D-backs immediately after the all-star break. He joined the team a day after the Braves traded to Pederson, whose fourth inning solo shooting Thursday was his third homerun since arriving in Atlanta and second against a southpaw.
Duvall and Soler are a few other recent acquisitions that have already bolstered an outfield mix that will become stronger when Eddie Rosario comes off the injured list within a week or two.
The bullpen was also reinforced with the arrival of Richard Rodríguez and the resurgence of Tyler Matzek. A remaining weak point for the club is the backstop, which will also be reinforced when Travis d’Arnaud leaves IL to take Kevan Smith’s place in the next four games.
“It’s starting to feel like the mojo is back,” said Snitker. “The way these guys roar back, it’s kind of like the way we’ve been doing it for the last two or three years. It looks more like us. And all the new guys are getting involved and all of them have a big part in what we do now.
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