The Braves were on the verge of a five-game skid Thursday, but they’ll enter Saturday on a two-game win streak.
Despite an erratic outing from spot starter Kyle Wright, the Braves did enough to defeat the Cubs 5-2 on Friday in Chicago. It was the Braves’ first game against a non-division opponent and opened a three-game series.
Unfortunately for the Braves, the win wasn’t without loss. Outfielder Ender Inciarte injured his hamstring and left during the fourth inning. He was replaced by veteran Guillermo Heredia. Then second baseman Ozzie Albies was hit with a pitch in the calf and left in the top of the ninth inning. The Braves already were dealing with several injuries to key contributors.
“They’re both being checked right now,” manager Brian Snitker said of Inciarte and Albies. “Ender, I don’t know if it’s the same one (he injured in 2019), but he (hurt) his hamstring. Ozzie, he’d been hit twice in the calf and fouled one ball off the top of his foot. We’ll know more this evening.”
Wright was thrown into action because lefty Drew Smyly was placed on the injured list Friday morning with left forearm inflammation. Wright never had command of his fastball, hitting four Cubs in only 4-2/3 innings. He held their struggling offense to two runs, which helped the Braves win, but Wright didn’t do anything that would excite the team.
To his credit, he never let the game spiral. The numbers: Two runs on three hits, five strikeouts, two walks and four hit batters. It was a strange outing for Wright, who needs to make the most of each of his opportunities as he vies for a more regular major-league role.
“Command wasn’t great,” Wright said. “A lot of it was I didn’t have a great grip or feel of the baseball in the conditions. I think I did a really good job settling down and making pitches when I did.” Wright did feel his slider was effective and helped him get out of those tough situations.
“Kyle, he’d lose it, then he’d make some great pitches,” Snitker said. “The consistency, command wasn’t great, but he dialed it in when he needed to. Made some nasty pitches. If this kid ever gets that consistency, the weapons he has. But I love the way he didn’t let it get out of hand.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Ronald Acuna continued his tear with a two-RBI single and a run scored. The run was particularly impressive. Marcell Ozuna hit a sharp grounder to Cubs shortstop Javy Baez, who gathered the ball and seemed surprised that Acuna, who started at second base, had rounded third and was dashing home. It was another instance of the Braves being rewarded for their aggressive base running.
“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.”
Acuna has scored in eight consecutive games for the Braves. He’s scored 19 runs in 14 games overall. “He’s one of the best players I’ve ever seen,” said Ozuna, who was teammates with Christian Yelich and Giancarlo Stanton in Miami.
It was a decent day overall for the Braves’ offense, which had nine hits. Ozuna had his second three-hit game since Tuesday, when Snitker tweaked the lineup. The Braves have scored at least five runs in each of the four games since the lineup change.
“I feel like I’m getting there,” Ozuna said of his own performance. “I feel like there are good things coming up.”
The Braves and Cubs play the second game of their series Saturday afternoon. Huascar Ynoa will try to build off his excellent start opposite Cubs right-hander Trevor Williams.
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