The Atlanta Braves took down the Oakland Athletics 4-2 in Friday night’s series opener in Truist Park.To close a month that hasn’t had much to write home about from the offense, Atlanta got back to some of their 2023 ways in this one. The Braves scored a run in the first inning, although unlike last year, it wasn’t with a homer or Ronald Acuña Jr. stolen base, instead coming off of a Matt Olson sacrifice fly.
The Braves added on in the second inning, with Jarred Kelenic’s one-out double scoring both Michael Harris II from 2nd and Sean Murphy from 1st in what was some great baserunning from Murphy - with Harris getting just halfway to third base in case the ball was caught, Murphy accelerated and got all the way to second base when the ball dropped, allowing him to continue motoring around and score right behind Harris.
But even with the multi-run inning and four total runs, the Braves only had six hits, going just one-for-five with runners in scoring position and leaving four on base.Atlanta’s premiere free-agent acquisition put up yet another quality start in this one, allowing one run on four hits and two walks in his six innings while striking out eight.
López performed just as well in the advanced stats as he did in the conventional ones, finishing with 16 whiffs and a 33% CSW, solidly above MLB average .López is still primarily a two-pitch starter, throwing his fastball and slider a combined 85% of the time. He threw nine curveballs and four changeups tonight, both seeming like quality pitches that could potentially be used a bit more to keep opposing hitters off guard.
Atlanta’s looking to take the series early in a late-afternoon start, scheduled for 4:10 PM ET. Chris Sale is taking on Oakland’s Aaron Brooks .Managing Editor for Braves Today and the 2023 IBWAA Prospects/Minors Writer of the Year. You can reach him at contact@bravestoday.com