ST. LOUIS — The Braves entered the regular season with large goals and aspirations, as every team does. The difference with the Braves: The roster matches the expectations. There is talent everywhere.
None of it matters, though, without the performance to back it up.
That’s why the Braves’ season-opening road trip is so impressive.
The Braves dominated their competition, winning five of six games between Washington and St. Louis. And with Wednesday’s win over the Cardinals, the Braves swept a team many expect to contend in the National League this season.
The final scores: 8-4, 4-1, 5-2 (Wednesday). And at times, the games didn’t even feel as close as those scores indicated.
This was as complete a series sweep as you can imagine. The Braves are 5-1 and out to an early 2 1/2-game lead in the NL East.
“You want to come out and have a good start,” Matt Olson said. “Sometimes it doesn’t always happen, but with the start we’ve had with this road trip, I feel like we’re in a good spot. That’s a really good team over there, and to be able to sweep them, it felt like we were kind of clicking on all cylinders, really, between pitching, defense, offense.
“Just try to ride the momentum.”
The Braves’ bats crushed St. Louis’ starting pitching. The Braves’ starting pitchers kept a dangerous Cardinals lineup quiet, and the bullpen followed suit. And in one game, the Braves played one of the better team defensive games you’ll see.
On Wednesday, the Braves followed a familiar script as they hammered the Cardinals’ starting pitcher. This time, they scored five runs off Miles Mikolas, including jumping to a three-run lead before their guy, Bryce Elder, even took the hill.
Ronald Acuña Jr. led off the game with a single, then scored from first, with his helmet flying off as he raced around the bases, on Olson’s double. Three innings later, Acuña scored from first again on an Olson double.
In between those two plays, Austin Riley brought home Olson with a single in the first and Olson homered – his third of the season – in the second inning.
The Braves led by four runs after two innings and by five after four frames. Meanwhile, the Cardinals stayed at zero.
“I think it means a lot,” Michael Harris II said of the quick starts. “It sets the tone for the rest of the game, and it kind of puts pressure on the other team. I feel like we’ve done a good job of putting up runs early and then keeping the lead throughout the whole game.”
Elder, recalled to start for the injured Max Fried, hurled six shutout innings. He saw a couple of situations that could’ve undone him, but escaped them. He allowed only two hits, and one came on a pop-up that was ruled a hit because it fell to the ground after Braves defenders had a miscommunication. Elder walked three batters, but struck out six.
And yes, the Braves swept this series without Fried, Spencer Strider or Kyle Wright. Instead, Charlie Morton (Monday), Dylan Dodd (Tuesday) and Elder shut down St. Louis. The bullpen never coughed up the leads it inherited.
Specifically, Elder did this three weeks after the team optioned him, which was disappointing for a pitcher who hoped to make the team. He responded by pitching really well.
“It’s part of it,” Elder said. “Obviously, I didn’t start where I wanted to, but at the same time, it’s not about me, it’s about the Atlanta Braves. We’re trying to win, and however that is going to happen, and whoever it takes to happen, that’s really what’s at stake. So being able to get this opportunity to come up with a win, I’m pleased with it.”
After Elder exited, Michael Tonkin, Dylan Lee, Collin McHugh and Jesse Chavez combined to preserve the lead and send the Braves back to Atlanta with an impressive sweep.
The Braves played great defense, too. In the eighth inning, Harris made a leaping catch at the wall to rob the Cardinals of at least one run. In the ninth, with a man on first, Olson caught a liner and dove back to first for the double play that gave the Braves two outs.
After his catch, Harris threw his head back, looked up and yelled, a show of emotion after a crucial play.
“I was just trying to do everything possible to save runs, and I think I did that,” Harris said. “I kind of let a little bit out, but it felt good, so I’m glad I got that out.”
McHugh allowed one run in the ninth, forcing Snitker to go with Chavez, who got Tommy Edman to pop up in foul territory for the final out.
In February, the Braves departed for North Port, Florida, where they went through a month and a half of spring training. They began the season with a week on the road.
Now, they finally head home, where they’ll welcome the Padres to Truist Park from Thursday through Sunday. Strider will start the home opener.
The Braves couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season. Through a handful of games, they’ve played exactly like, well, a stacked team.
“It’s good,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of his team’s start. “You compartmentalize and just take every day as a separate little entity and try to play a really good baseball game. But you’d rather be doing this than the other.”
