Hey y’all. Happy Monday.
We’ll bask in all the weekend glory momentarily, but wanted to let you know about something first.
Starting Tuesday, we’re going to start mixing in links-only versions of the Braves Report a few times a week. The goal is to give me more time to plan out a new and improved offering, which I promise you’ll like. It’s just gonna take a bit.
Stick with us!
THE SERIES AHEAD
Credit: Colin Hubbard/AP
An off-day today, then a well-timed visit with the Mets. Assuming, you know, there’s ever a good time to go to Flushing.
📺 How to watch: All three games (Tuesday through Thursday) start at 7:10 p.m. on FanDuel Sports.
⚾ The pitching matchups: In chronological order …
- Spencer Strider (5-9, 4.04) vs. Clay Holmes (9-6, 3.46)
- Carlos Carrasco (2-2, 6.18) vs. David Peterson (7-5, 2.98)
- Bryce Elder (4-9, 6.12) vs. Kodai Senga (7-4, 2.30)
📝 The scouting report: The Mets have one win in August. They’ve lost seven straight games and, at 63-55, sit 5½ games back of the division-leading Phillies.
What a shame.
JUST LIKE OLD TIMES (SORT OF)
Soak it in, folks. Revel in it.
The weekend Fish fry at Truist Park was an example of what this team can be — and we don’t know how long it’s gonna stick around.
Marcell Ozuna hitting dingers again? Michael Harris II raking on? Jurickson Profar stealing home runs? Even Joey Wentz throwing up a 2.83 ERA?
Incredible stuff.
Teamwise, they put up more than six runs per game, hit .368 with runners in scoring position (gasp!) and even rallied for three wins after falling behind.
“No matter what the record says, the sense that I’ve gotten is no matter who we play, you still expect to win the game every night,” Wentz said.
It doesn’t mean much for 2025. That ship has already sailed far enough to make Magellan jealous.
But it sure feels nice — and if they can keep it going, it sure beats heading into 2026 completely lost at sea.
The AJC’s Olivia Sayer has more here.
🤔 And in case you missed it:
- Chris Sale is scheduled to make a rehab start in Gwinnett on Tuesday.
- Before Sunday’s game, Ronald Acuña Jr. did “light exercises and agility work” on the field. He also sprinted a bit. No official timetable for his return, though.
PAWOL’S REPORT CARD
Credit: Colin Hubbard/AP
Jen Pawol is now headed back to Triple-A, her history-making MLB debut in the books.
So how did the first woman to umpire a regular season big league game actually perform behind the plate?
According to Umpire Scorecards, Pawol had a pretty solid Sunday. The basics:
- Overall accuracy: 93%
- Overall consistency: 93%
Both of those are a point or so below average. She deemed five should’ve-been-balls as strikes (including the first pitch of the game). She also called six should’ve-been-strikes as balls.
But we can forgive a few jitters.
FISCAL FEEDBACK
On Friday, I asked y’all what you thought about the report showing the Braves 1) made more money overall and 2) spent less on the payroll.
🗣️ Richard isn’t loving it: “After telling us the payroll would go up (general manager Alex Anthopoulos) sat on his hands and did nothing. I know they reduced payroll; so they could buy a building. You can’t predict the entire rotation would get hurt but there were pitchers available in the offseason that could have been considered.”
🗣️ Bruce is also mad: “How does the earnings report make me feel? Betrayed. I don’t think (Terry) McGuirk really knows baseball and AA (Anthopoulos) seems clearly subservient to McGuirk. Bad combination.”
🗣️ John is a little more sanguine: “I don’t begrudge a company from making a fair profit as long as they provide a good product/service, and the Braves have been doing that consistently for decades. This year’s team has had an exceptional string of bad luck and is hopefully an anomaly, and I have high hopes for 2026.”
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: Colin Hubbard/AP
Nice double, Mr. Albies. Let’s try to keep ‘em coming.
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.
