ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Braves gained momentum before an important series. But as this season has gone, this, too, had to come with an injury scare.
The Braves on Sunday defeated the Angels, 3-1, at Angel Stadium to take two of three. But in the top of the first inning, Austin Riley exited the game after being hit on the right hand/wrist.
Now, the first-place Phillies are next.
Five observations:
1. The Braves went 6-4 on this three-city road trip. They won two of the series, including a four-game set in San Francisco.
“It was a tough 6-4, I’ll tell you that,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “There were some rough games in there. But any time you can come west here for those three teams and finish over .500, that’s pretty good.”
The Braves had gritty wins. They had a couple dominating offensive performances. They lost a few winnable games – one of them in brutal fashion.
This trip had it all.
“I guess the important thing is to look forward, right?” said Charlie Morton, who started Sunday’s game. “You can’t really hang your hat on it, and then you try not to let the bad ones get you down. And then you just look to tomorrow and the next one. …I think we’re doing a pretty good job of not letting each day get us too high or too low, and hopefully we can get some momentum and keep it going.”
2. In the top of the first inning, Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz hit Riley in the right hand/wrist area with a 97-mph sinker. Riley was in immediate pain.
He underwent X-rays and a CT scan in Anaheim on Sunday. The tests were “inconclusive,” Snitker said. The Braves will evaluate Riley further on Monday in Atlanta – which will include an MRI.
You really cannot make this up. It could be another brutal blow to a Braves team that has dealt with so many injuries.
And came a day after Travis d’Arnaud was hit in the right wrist and exited the game.
Asked if d’Arnaud felt OK on Sunday, Snitker said: “Not really. He was still real sore, so I’m sure they’ll treat him up again (Monday) and we’ll see where he’s at Tuesday. He got popped pretty good, too.”
3. The biggest spot of the game came in the fifth inning, when Charlie Morton loaded the bases after not allowing a hit through four frames. Morton hit a batter with a back-foot curveball to let in a run.
The Braves led by only a run.
This seemed like the moment when Morton might unravel.
Instead, he got the next batter to pop-out to first baseman Matt Olson in foul territory in front of the Braves’ dugout. Then he rolled an inning-ending double play.
Morton, who has been confused by his inconsistency this season, has put together consecutive good outings. After allowing two runs over six innings against the Giants, he held the Angels to that one run over 5 1/3 innings.
Snitker’s bullpen did the rest. Dylan Lee struck out four batters over 1 2/3 innings. Joe Jiménez tossed a scoreless eighth. Raisel Iglesias earned the save.
“It’s awesome,” Lee said of pitching in such a deep bullpen. “If somebody’s down, you know that the next guys up and he’s gonna be able to do the job as well.”
4. Ramón Laureano led off the fourth inning with a homer off Kochanowicz. He homered four times on the trip, including one blast in each of the final two games.
He looks like a great signing for Atlanta, which took a chance on him after Cleveland released him.
“I haven’t had this much fun in a couple years,” Laureano said after Sunday’s win.
In 31 games with the Guardians, Laureano hit .143 with a .494 OPS, a home run and four RBI.
In 34 games with Atlanta, including Sunday, Laureano has hit .286 with an .872 OPS, six homers and 12 RBI.
5. Braves. Phillies. Truist Park. Three games.
Everyone ready?
You’ll have to sit through Monday’s off day, but a much-anticipated series is finally here. The Braves are seven games behind the Phillies and can pull within six if they take two of three like they did in their last meeting with Philadelphia.
The Braves will reinstate Reynaldo López from the injured list to start Tuesday’s series opener against the Phillies. He’ll pitch opposite Zack Wheeler. Max Fried will start on Wednesday and Spencer Schwellenbach will go Thursday. The Braves will face Aaron Nola on Wednesday.
The Braves could’ve brought back Chris Sale to pitch Thursday’s game on regular rest, but opted against it.
“We’re just staying on turn,” Snitker said. “We’re not manipulating this thing anymore. We’re gonna let this thing ride and when guys get the extra rest – because I say, this next series is a big series, (but) it’s not any more important than the next one we play after that, quite honestly. Every game’s important, we gotta keep these guys as regular as possible, because right now, when they’ve pitched on regular rest and all, they’ve been really good.”
Stat to know
16 of 18 - In Sunday’s win, the Braves had 16 of the 18 hardest-hit balls of the game, including six of the top seven.
Quotable
“I said, ‘F—.’”-Laureano on his reaction when he saw Riley get plunked. He spoke for Braves Country.
Up next
Tuesday’s game begins at 7:20 p.m.
