Braves Report: Another shot at .500

Remember, like, two days ago, when I wrote about the Braves’ stars needing to come through more consistently?

Well … Michael Harris II and Marcell Ozuna delivered last night.

And Chris Sale just might be getting his groove back, too.

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP

Whaddya say we make it four wins in a row, boys — and get back to .500 while we’re at it?

📺 How to watch: First pitch arrives at 7:15 p.m. on FanDuel Sports. And, of course, at Truist Park.

⚾ The starters: Grant Holmes (2-2, 4.24) vs. Hunter Greene (4-2, 2.53).

Greene, 26, may be the most impressive of all the Reds’ young pitchers. He struck out 12 Nationals in his last outing.
His previous start against the Braves was a seven-inning, two-hit shutout in 2024.

🤕 Injury update: Tyler Callihan, the Reds outfielder who fractured his forearm trying to catch what turned into an inside-the-park home run on Monday, is expected to miss at least two months.

BASERUNNING 101

Credit: Butch Dill/AP

Credit: Butch Dill/AP

As I alluded to earlier: Chris Sale went 6⅔ scoreless and struck out 10 Reds last night. Marcell Ozuna walked things off in the 10th inning.

Before that, though, Michael Harris II drove in the tying run — with a speedy assist from pinch-runner Stuart Fairchild.

And if you’ve ever wanted a detailed breakdown of how major league baserunning works, today’s your day.

Beat writer Justin Toscano went *deep* on the big play, with input from Fairchild, third base coach Matt Tuiasosopo and catcher Drake Baldwin (who provided a timely directive from the on-deck circle).

It’s a very impressive look at the series of split-second decisions that changed a ballgame.

A sampling of the quotes:

🗣️ From Tuiasosopo: “I was hoping the ball got all the way to the wall, and then he cut it off. And it was like I could feel Stu running really hard, so credit to him for just how hard he was running. And then once I saw the throw go toward second and they didn’t set up to come home at all, I saw the ball’s flight going toward second, I just said, ‘Let’s go.’”

🗣️ From Fairchild: “My eyes were not even on the ball coming in. I saw Trevino, the catcher, standing up, and he was kind of deking like he wasn’t about to get the ball. I think it was Baldy who was on deck, and he was telling me to ‘Get down! Get down! Get down!’ And I’m glad he did, because Trevino was selling that the ball wasn’t coming in.”

Real baseball nerd stuff. But you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t one, right?

A CLOSER LOOK

We’ve discussed it pretty regularly here in the Braves Report, so I won’t belabor things. But our pal Gabriel Burns offered up a fresh look at five Braves who have been pleasant surprises this season.

Eli White made the list, of course. Here’s a truly eye-opening bonus stat: Since he became a lineup regular on April 23, White has nine extra-base hits. That’s second in the majors — behind only Shohei Ohtani (11).

Big shout out to Daysbel Hernandez, whom I don’t mention enough, too.

MORE FUN WITH NUMBERS

Let’s circle back real quick to Chris Sale, who notched a couple new milestones Tuesday (aside from dominating the Reds and continuing to look more and more like himself).

300: Career starts for Sale. He’s one of just 11 active pitchers to do that.
2,000: Total career innings. Only four other active pitchers have eclipsed that mark.

RIVAL WATCH

The Braves are in third place in the National League East. Let’s see what everyone has been up to!

🚽 The Mets (23-14) have dropped three of their last four. Even with a league-leading rotation that’s apparently adopted a new changeup-splitter hybrid called a “kick change.”

🔔 The Phillies (20-15) beat Tampa at that minor league ballpark last night. Kyle Schwarber’s 12 home runs are tied for the major league lead.

🪰 The Nationals (17-20) are bringing in old friend Michael Soroka to start their series finale against Cleveland. Soroka strained his biceps at the beginning of the season.

🎣 The Marlins (14-21) just beat the Dodgers — in their fifth walk-off win of the season.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

Please enjoy this side-by-side video of Diamondbacks prospect Druw Jones snagging a would-be home run — just like dad Andruw, the Braves legend and should-be Hall of Famer.