By MIKE ROBERTS
After a perfect week, sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies, the Atlanta Braves have played up-and-down baseball recently. The team lost to the San Francisco Giants in a makeup game before splitting a two-game series with the Washington Nationals, and they’re currently up 2-1 in their four-game matchup with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Atlanta (85-58) remains on top of the National League East, though, leading those rival Phillies by five games in the standings. Here are three important storylines from this past week.
Ronald Acuña Jr. Continues to Impress
The Braves smoked the Nationals 9-0 on Wednesday, and Acuña (.255 AVG, .797 OPS, 16 HR, 45 RBI, 20 SB) was extremely instrumental in the huge victory. The 2023 MLB MVP hit a three-run homer to become the fastest player in major league history to reach 200 home runs and 200 stolen bases. Acuña needed 904 career games to reach the legendary 200/200 club. Alfonso Soriano set the previous record (929 games) in 2006, coincidentally as a member of the Nationals playing against the Braves.
Acuña stole the 225th base of his career as he swiped second following his leadoff single in the sixth inning. He finished the game with three hits and three RBIs.
It was an awesome week altogether for Acuña. In six games, he recorded 11 hits, nine RBIs, and three home runs. In Sunday’s 5-4 win over Philly, he hit a game-tying three-run homer during the top of the eighth inning. That home run was his 1,000th career hit, as he joined Hall of Famer Hank Aaron as the only Braves player to have 1,000 hits, 200 homers, and 200 stolen bases. When you’re mentioned in the same sentence as a legend like Hammerin’ Hank, you know you’re doing something special.
Making the Sale
Speaking of Braves legends, let’s focus on the greatness of Chris Sale (14-9, 2.10 ERA, 1.01 WHIP). It’s been almost impossible this season to have a Braves weekly report without including the 10-time All-Star.
In a matchup of two of baseball’s top pitchers, Sale outdueled Cristopher Sánchez as Atlanta knocked off the Phillies 5-2 on Friday night. Sale was dominant as usual, allowing just two runs in six innings with seven strikeouts and a walk.
It seems like Sale always delivers whenever the Braves need a big win. And that’s exactly what he did in the series opener against the Phillies, who are trying to find a way to pass up Atlanta somehow and take over the top spot in the NL East. Beating the Dodgers the previous week and then the Phillies, Sale continues to be The Man for Atlanta.
Mauricio Dubón Has Been a Great Pickup
Braves players like Acuña, Sale, Ozzie Albies, Matt Olson, and Drake Baldwin get all the attention. And that makes sense, seeing that those guys are All-Stars.
But what about Dubón (.267 AVG., .701 OPS, 11 HR, 66 RBI, 7 SB)? While the 32-year-old has never been an All-Star, he’s an important player for Atlanta, as he possesses the ability to play multiple positions and swings a solid bat, too.
Dubón served as a major contributor in each of the Braves’ victories in their current series against Philadelphia. The two-time Gold Glove winner had two hits and a home run Friday and produced a pair of hits on Sunday.
Terry McGuirk and Alex Anthopoulos, the dynamic duo in the Braves’ front office, pulled off a brilliant move by acquiring Dubón from the Houston Astros in a trade for Nick Allen back in November. If the Braves want to go deep in the playoffs this year, they ‘ll need their All-Stars to produce. But they’ll also need valuable role players like Dubón to get the job done as well.
Looking Ahead
Next up, the Braves will finish their series in Philadelphia today before immediately starting a six-game homestand, starting with a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays that begins Tuesday and then another three-game series with the Phillies, beginning on Friday. Those three games will be the last head-to-head meetings between the Braves and Phillies in the regular season.
The Braves are in the midst of a stretch of 13 games in 13 days, and have just one remaining off day on Thursday, Sept. 17, before the regular season ends at the conclusion of September.
Here’s a look at the upcoming schedule, including TV information and probable pitchers:
- Monday, 9/7: 1:05 PM, BravesVision/MLB.TV, Grant Holmes (ATL) (9-5, 3.62 ERA, 1.31 WHIP) vs. Jesus Luzardo (PHI) (13-5, 3.02 ERA, 1.12 WHIP)
- Tuesday, 9/8: 7:15 PM, BravesVision/MLB.TV, Freddy Peralta (TB) (7-11, 4.96 ERA, 1.37 WHIP) vs. TBD (ATL) (0-1, 7.13 ERA, 1.75 WHIP)
- Wednesday, 9/9: 7:15 PM, BravesVision/MLB.TV/MLB Network, Griffin Jax (TB) (6-10, 3.82 ERA, 1.27 WHIP) vs. TBD (ATL) (9-5, 3.62 ERA, 1.31 WHIP)
- Thursday, 9/10: 12:15 PM, BravesVision/MLB.TV, Nick Martinez (TB) (14-4, 3.04 ERA, 1/10 WHIP) vs. Chris Sale (ATL) (14-9, 2.10 ERA, 1.01 WHIP)
- Friday, 9/11: 7:15 PM, BravesVision/MLB.TV, TBD (PHI) vs. TBD (ATL)
- Saturday, 9/12: 7:15 PM, BravesVision/MLB.TV, TBD (PHI) vs. TBD (ATL)
- Sunday, 9/13 1:35 PM, BravesVision/MLB.TV, TBD (PHI) vs. TBD (ATL)