The Braves began perhaps their toughest homestand of the season Monday, hosting the Mets for four games and the Astros for three this weekend. The first contest went swimmingly, with the Braves cruising to a 13-1 victory over the Mets.
Here are five takeaways from Monday:
1. Spencer Strider lasted 2 ⅔ innings in his previous outing, which came against these same Mets. It was the worst outing of his young career. Monday was his chance at redemption. He wasn’t going to let rain take that from him.
Strider pitched two scoreless innings before play was halted nearly an hour at Truist Park due to inclement weather. He threw a simulated inning during the pause, then took his place back on the mound when play resumed. He followed with another three frames, allowing one run and exiting with a 5-1 lead.
2. After making headlines and riling up the Mets’ fan base by referencing the Mets’ “luck” following his last outing, Strider delivered a brilliant bounce back. He surrendered three hits – two didn’t clear the infield – striking out four and issuing one walk.
“Talk the talk was not exactly what I was trying to convey after that game,” Strider said, referencing his spicy comments after his previous start. “I needed my chamomile tea, and I didn’t have that in the clubhouse in New York. I was frustrated, and they’re a pesky team. They grind out at-bats, they don’t strike out, don’t swing and miss. And that’s kind of how I pitch. They’re the opposite of me. I knew it, and I didn’t make an adjustment last week. I chalk that up to them.”
This time, Strider adjusted. “I leaned into it a little bit,” he said. “I expected that stuff to happen, didn’t expect to strike a lot of guys out. Just wanted to get ahead, fill up the zone and let them hit the ball.”
Strider’s stuff was crisp. He threw 21 sliders, inducing four whiffs on seven swings and five called strikes. His fastball averaged nearly 98 mph and topped at 99.7.
“I’m so impressed with the person,” manager Brian Snitker said of Strider. “How he goes about it, the work ethic, how he goes about it. The day-to-day demeanor he has. … Just the professional approach is really, really impressive with a young player.
“I’m learning that with all these young guys. They’re a special group, in that respect. We got fortunate. We did some great scouting and development, but you just never know what a guy has inside and how he’s going to handle all this. It’s really fortunate we got a group of guys like this in one swoop.”
3. The Braves put the game out of reach with an eight-run sixth. They sent 12 batters to the plate and scored five runs before making their first out. Michael Harris, Ronald Acuña, Dansby Swanson (two) and Matt Olson each had RBIs.
Travis d’Arnaud, back in the lineup for the first time since Aug. 6 after nursing a lower leg injury, completed the frame with a monstrous three-run homer. Mets relievers Adonis Medina (six runs, five earned) and Mychal Givens (three runs) were charged the damage.
4. Acuña has rediscovered his form. After posting two multi-hit efforts in Miami over the weekend, Acuña had three doubles and three RBIs Monday. He made loud, powerful contact and thrilled on the basepaths. He looked like the Acuña to which all are accustomed.
“I feel really good,” Acuña said via team interpreter Franco Garcia. “I’m not concerned about where the ball is going, just as long as I’m making good contact and hitting it hard.” Snitker added: “He can take a game over offensively, defensively, on the bases. When he’s healthy and hitting on all cylinders, it’s awesome to have him up there leading off and coming up so much.”
5. Second baseman Vaughn Grissom, the Braves’ latest 21-year-old sensation, made his home debut Monday. Grissom went 2-for-3 with a walk, collecting his first hit at Truist Park with a single to left field. He doubled during the sixth-inning madness.
“I love the way he plays, I really do,” Acuña said. “He goes in there and doesn’t think much about it. He just plays the game.”
Stat to know
4 ½ – The Braves trimmed their National League East deficit to 4 ½ games. That’s the same deficit they had Aug. 4 after losing the series opener in New York. They lost four of five to the Mets, yet that series, as ugly as it was, certainly didn’t doom them.
Quotable
“It shows how good the Braves’ development is. (President of baseball operations) Alex (Anthopoulos) giving Vaughn a chance, me a chance, Mike; those guys didn’t even play in Triple-A, for goodness sake, and they’re coming right up and going at it. … Mike and Vaughn are pretty good, so it’s not a super-difficult decision to get them up here and let them go.” – Strider on the rookies’ success
Eddie Rosario update
Left fielder Eddie Rosario exited the game as a precaution with left hamstring tightness. Snitker said he’s day to day: “We’re hoping with a couple days down with treatment he’ll be OK, but we won’t know until tomorrow when he gets here.”
Up next
The Braves and Mets continue their series Tuesday, when Charlie Morton (5-5, 4.26) opposes Taijuan Walker (10-3, 3.43).
