Well, folks. We’re now looking at a team that’s 19 games under .500 and, believe it or not, it doesn’t get much easier with the Marlins inbound.
But hey: big umpire news!
THE SERIES AHEAD
Five straight games with the Fish at Truist Park, including a Saturday doubleheader. Giddy up.
📺 How to watch: Lots of games here, so stick with me. All on FanDuel Sports.
- Tonight and Friday’s games start at 7:15 p.m.
- Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader starts at 1:15 p.m. Game 2 at 7:15 p.m.
- Sunday’s finale gets underway at 1:35 p.m.
⚾ The pitching matchup: We’ll start with tonight’s duo and go from there. Carlos Carrasco (2-2, 5.68) goes for Atlanta. Eury Perez (4-3, 2.70) gets the call for Miami.
📝 The scouting report: Miami won Wednesday but dropped its recent series with the Astros. Before that, it was one of the hottest clubs in baseball.
- Over his last five starts, Perez has allowed a total of four earned runs (and struck out 32 batters in 28 innings). Braves got him for three runs back in June.
- This Kyle Stowers kid — the reigning National League Player of the Month — is pretty good offensively, too.
PIONEERING UMPIRE
Credit: Jeff Roberson/AP
We’ll have more on this later today, after she speaks with reporters (check ajc.com/braves). But it’s a pretty big deal … so I’m jumping the gun a bit.
⭐ Jen Pawol is set to become the first woman to umpire a Major League Baseball game.
A nine-year veteran of the minor league circuit, she’ll make her groundbreaking debut during Saturday’s doubleheader at Truist. She’ll work the bases both games, then set up behind the plate for Sunday’s series finale.
- MLB regularly calls umpires up from the minors to fill in for various reasons. I’m assuming the whole “five games in four days” thing played a role here.
Pawol, a 48-year-old New Jersey native, played college softball at Hofstra and later joined USA Baseball’s national women’s team.
She has also umpired major league spring training games the last two seasons.
⭐ Her regular season debut will arrive years after women got their shot to officiate in the NBA (1997) and NFL (2015).
Good for her.
And if you have a problem with it … you’re wrong. Respectfully.
EVEN STRIDER STRUGGLES
As previously alluded to, the Braves dropped Wednesday’s finale with the Brewers, 5-4. Jurickson Profar and Michael Harris II made it close with eighth- and ninth-inning homers, respectively, but it wasn’t enough.
😬 Adding insult to injury: Spencer Strider — the last regular member of the Braves rotation standing, unless you count Bryce Elder — put forth what was probably his worst performance of the season.
Five runs and 11 hits over just 4⅔ innings.
“They’re a really good baseball team,” Strider said of the Brewers. “They hit a lot of executed pitches and seem to have a really good plan at the plate. And they did, all series.”
😬 The Braves, meanwhile, went 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position during the three-game set.
OH NO, NOT MURPH’S
Nothing lasts forever. Which is a positive thought, if we’re talking about the current Braves season.
But not when applied to Dale Murphy’s restaurant at the Cobb Galleria.
😔 Murph’s is set to close Tuesday, the Braves legend announced on Instagram: “With the renovation of the Galleria Mall, there doesn’t appear to be a future for Murph’s. We’ve had a great run and it’s been a blast! Thank you so much to all of you who have made it so successful and have supported us all these years.”
The eatery originally opened in 2017 and reopened after a brief COVID-era closure. Murphy encouraged folks to stop by for one more burger and a batch of cheese curds.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: Colin Hubbard/AP
Have a good Thursday, folks.
Thanks for reading Braves Report. Tell a friend — and maybe give the AJC’s Sports Daily newsletter a shot, too.
Until next time.
About the Author
Before taking over the AJC's Sports Daily newsletter, Tyler Estep spent two years writing the A.M. ATL newsletter. A Gwinnett County native and University of Georgia graduate, he has been with the AJC since 2015 and previously worked as a reporter on the breaking news, hyperlocal and local government teams.
