CLEVELAND – The Braves’ best trait might be their consistency. Regardless of what occurs the day before, they show up the same for each day.
Yeah, they lost on Tuesday.
Yeah, it was tough.
On Wednesday, they returned to Progressive Field and defeated the Guardians, 8-1, to take the series. Atlanta is 58-28.
Five observations:
1. A baseball season is grueling. It can be difficult for players to remain level-headed on a daily basis.
The Braves are super talented, but they might also have a leg up on other clubs because of their mental approach.
“We do such a good job of, whether we win by 15 or lose by 15, showing up and treating the next day as a different day, as cliché as it is,” Matt Olson said. “But it’s part of the reason why we’re able to flush it, good or bad, and move on to the next one and treat it like the new day is.”
Tuesday’s loss put Atlanta’s streak of nine straight series wins on the line. It did not matter.
The Braves hung four runs on Cleveland in the first inning. They added on later. They tallied 19 hits. They blasted homers and poked singles through the infield. They did it every which way.
They’ve won 10 consecutive series. They last lost one at the end of May in Oakland.
“They’re really good at turning the page, like we always talk about,” manager Brian Snitker said of his players.
2. On Tuesday night, Kolby Allard talked about limiting damage and avoiding big innings. On Wednesday night, Michael Soroka wove his way through multiple jams as he battled to post a scoreless outing.
And coincidentally, the two pitchers – who were placed next to one another in the clubhouse here – talked about all of this before Soroka spoke with reporters.
Soroka was not sharp.
But a zero is a zero.
“You take it and run, right?” Soroka said. “That’s what I said with Kolby just now. You have nights like that where you seem to always be in trouble. I think, if anything, it’s a good confidence-booster to know that when we’re in trouble, we’re just a couple of pitches away. When I felt like my back was against the wall, that’s when everything kind of started to click a little bit.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Over 4 2/3 innings, Soroka allowed five hits. He walked three batters. He hit two others. Cleveland threatened in every inning.
This could have spiraled.
It did not. He did not surrender a run.
“(Going) pitch to pitch,” Soroka said of how he avoided damage. “It’s so cliche. We talk about it all the time, mental skills coaches talk about it all the time, but being able to truly understand that you’re one pitch and the next one after that doesn’t matter. The one previous didn’t, either. And I think that was the one thing today that I actually did a pretty good job with was not letting the previous pitch affect my next one.”
3. In the ninth inning, Sean Murphy walked up to the plate needing a triple for the cycle.
Did he know that?
“I mean, yeah,” Murphy said. “I wasn’t expecting to get it. I would need something tragic to happen in the outfield for me to get a triple.”
Murphy did not hit for the cycle, but he did match a career high with four hits. He’s done it twice. (He also did it last July, with Oakland.)
In the first inning, Murphy hit a run-scoring single. In the third, he launched a two-out solo homer. In the fifth, he doubled. In the ninth, he hit a single.
Murphy, an All-Star, has 15 home runs and 50 RBIs.
“It’s been awesome,” Snitker said of Murphy’s production. “What he’s brought, what he’s added to our club has been -- God, that’s an unbelievable trade to get a guy of that caliber. The person, just the physical tools that the guy possesses. He’s been huge for us.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
4. In the first inning, Olson and Murphy hit run-scoring singles, and Eddie Rosario added a two-run double.
Eventually, Murphy, Olson and Austin Riley all homered. The Braves have homered in 23 straight games, the longest such streak for any team this year.
The Braves are not reliant on one or the other. They can score in all ways.
5. Michael Tonkin, who replaced Soroka, tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings. He allowed one hit. He had three strikeouts.
He is on a 14-inning scoreless streak.
Stat to know
7-0 - The Braves are 7-0 in series-deciding games this year. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Braves have never gone unbeaten in such contests over a full season.
Quotable
“It’s a good feeling. I think when you try to go out and win series, it keeps you in. You’re able to lose a game here and there, but if you have the goal every series, you’re going to be in a good spot at the end of the year. Ten straight’s good. We’ve been playing some good ball.” - Olson on 10 straight series wins
Up next
After Thursday’s off day, Charlie Morton will start Friday’s series opener versus the Rays at Tropicana Field. The game begins at 6:40 p.m., and it will air on Apple TV+.
