The Atlanta Braves got some revenge on the Milwaukee Brewers after their last series ended in a 2-3 split.
This time, the Braves got to use those brooms against the Brewers.
They swept a three-game series with the Brewers at home in Truist Park. The first two games in the series were a ten or more run onslaught led by the usual run-producing suspects: Ron Acuna Jr, Eddie Rosario, and Matt Olson, to name a few of the Braves’ heavy hitters.
Pitching made the difference too. Colin McHugh (3.34 ERA), Bryce Elder (3.18), and Kirby Yates (3.38) all helped limit the Brewers to 18 runs, while the Braves offense cranked out 29 combined runs. In contrast, in their last meeting, the Braves scored 13 runs, while they gave up 10 runs to the Brewers. Both teams, but particularly Atlanta, improved since the last series.
The Braves certainly did better than their disastrous meeting with the Boston Red Sox, where they got swept by the team from Beantown in a two-game series. The Braves could only get 4 runs, while the Sox scored 12 off Braves pitching.
With that successful series in the books, the Braves are looking to get even better than they are now. They just made a key acquisition Sunday, and have until 6 pm trade deadline Tuesday to make more changes to improve their 65-36 record, the MLB’s best. All will be looking at what moves Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopolos makes before time runs out.
“Everybody has faith in what [Anthopoulos] wants to do or not do,” said Matt Olson to MLB.com. “We’ve got a great team in that clubhouse right now. But if something comes around, I’m sure Alex has our best interests in mind.”
The Braves face the Los Angeles Angels (.519) for a three-game series starting tonight, with a long, break-free parade of away series with Chicago Cubs, and Pittsburgh Pirates, then they head to the Big Apple where they face the New York Mets and Yankees back-to-back.
As gruelling as this upcoming schedule is, it affords the Braves a chance to firm up their standings even further, considering they will be facing three struggling clubs at the moment, the Pirates (.448 pct against the Braves’ .650), Mets (.476) and Yankees (.524).
