The Braves rebounded from a four-game losing streak with their second consecutive win Friday, defeating the Cubs 5-2 at Wrigley Field.
The day wasn’t without its bad news, however, as outfielder Ender Inciarte and second baseman Ozzie Albies left with injuries. Manager Brian Snitker didn’t have an update on either player following the game.
Here are five takeaways from Friday:
1. Kyle Wright started after Drew Smyly was placed on the injured list Friday morning. Wright never had a feel for his fastball – he hit four Cubs batters – yet he managed to prevent disaster. The right-hander allowed two runs over 4-2/3 innings. It helped that the Cubs have produced arguably the worst offense in the majors to this point.
2. On top of his two RBIs, Ronald Acuna scored a run in the fourth thanks to his aggressive base running. Marcell Ozuna hit a sharp grounder to shortstop Javy Baez, who gathered the ball and seemed surprised when Acuna, who started the play at second, dashed around third and slid home.
“You can be aggressive like that when you have that speed,” Snitker said. “That’s a tough one as a third-base coach. Those things develop, and guys who are fast and running like that, you have no choice but to keep them going. That was a great (heads-up) play by Ronnie, Wash (third-base coach Ron Washington), both of them. Just being aggressive. When you’re running so hard, not taking anything for granted, it’s huge.”
Friday was Acuna’s eighth consecutive game scoring a run (the franchise record is 15). His streak of five consecutive games scoring at least two runs was snapped, however. Acuna tied Andy High (1926) for the longest such run in franchise history.
3. Ozuna had a three-hit game. It was his second three-hit game since Tuesday when Snitker changed the lineup. Two of Ozuna’s hits were clocked at over 100 mph.
“I feel like I’m getting there,” he said. “I think there are good things coming up.” Ozuna added that the lineup change injected some energy into the team’s offense. The Braves have scored at least five runs in each of the four games since rearranging their order.
4. After two troublesome outings, A.J. Minter rebounded. He took over with one on and one out in the eighth. He won an eight-pitch duel against Jason Heyward, striking him out. He then struck out Eric Sogard on three pitches.
“That was a great opportunity right there for him,” Snitker said. “This guy is going to be big for us. I thought that was the perfect opportunity for him to not have to start an inning, just come in and get a couple outs. That was awesome. I think it does a lot for his psyche and confidence. And the confidence we have in him. He’s our guy. I think that was the perfect opportunity to get him back out there.”
5. The Braves’ bullpen over 5-2/3 innings: three hits, no runs, seven strikeouts, four walks. Each of the hits was surrendered by Josh Tomlin. Three of the walks were issued by closer Will Smith, who despite holding the Cubs scoreless, had a wild outing with three strikeouts along with the walks.
Stat of the game
4:02 (Friday was the Braves’ longest game of the season at four hours and two minutes. That’s impressive considering they’ve had three extra-inning contests, a 14-8 game and several tight affairs. Both teams used six pitchers each Friday. They issued a combined 16 walks.)
Quotable
“Is that all it was, four (hours)?” – Snitker on the game time
Nice to see you again
The Braves and Cubs didn’t play each other during the 2020 season because of MLB’s geographically coordinated schedule. That was the first time in 146 seasons they didn’t face off.
Up next
The Braves and Cubs continue their series Saturday afternoon when Huascar Ynoa opposes Trevor Williams.
