The Braves, despite their injury woes, finished a 3-2 road trip Wednesday when they defeated the Yankees 4-1 in New York to split the series.
Here are five takeaways from the game:
1. Ian Anderson, back in his native New York, stifled the Yankees for the second time in his career. On a cold, windy evening in the Bronx, Anderson pitched 6-2/3 scoreless innings. He allowed one run over six innings in his last start against the Yankees, which was his MLB debut in August 2020.
“I felt right at home out there,” Anderson said. “I felt comfortable in the cold.”
Anderson did lose steam at the end of the outing. He surrendered a single and walked a pair with two outs, leading manager Brian Snitker to turn to his bullpen. A.J. Minter retired DJ LeMahieu on a grounder to third to escape the bases-loaded jam.
“That’s the best (Anderson) has been all year, spring training and everything,” Snitker said. “As far as the three-pitch mix, command of his fastball. The total package was the best it’s been this year.”
2. Anderson’s grandmother, Beverley, saw him pitch in-person for the first time since he became a major leaguer. It was her first time seeing Anderson pitch since high school, though she watched his minor-league games through MiLB.com.
“(Beverley) was a little cold tonight, but she enjoyed it,” Anderson said. In total, Anderson left around 14 tickets for family members.
3. The Braves had a scare with Austin Riley in the third. When Clint Frazier caught a fly ball in left, he immediately fired to first base, hoping to pick off Riley. Riley slid into the base and turned his head right as the throw approached. The ball smacked Riley in the face. He paused for a moment but then laughed it off.
“I bent down expecting blood in my hand, and there wasn’t anything, so I was like, ‘All right, guess I’m good,’ ” Riley said. “It was numb, but other than that, I’m good.”
Credit: Atlanta Braves
Riley homered, singled and walked twice, making for a needed big night. Riley entered the game hitting .220/.333/.220 with one RBI. He’s shown reason for optimism at the plate recently. Riley hasn’t struck out in his past four games.
4. A night after walks were their undoing, the Braves took advantage of their opponents’ pitching miscues. The Braves drew four walks in the fifth, helping them take a 2-0 lead. Ehire Adrianza’s sacrifice fly scored the first run, while Marcell Ozuna’s bases-loaded walk resulted in the second.
Braves pitchers didn’t give the slumping Yankees life. The Braves held them to three runs Tuesday, two of which were made possible by walks. On Wednesday, they kept the Yankees off the board until their final out, when Frazier’s bloop single against Will Smith scored New York’s only run.
5. The Braves finished their five-game road trip at 3-2. Despite their mediocre start (8-10) and wave of injuries, nobody in the National League East has separated themselves. The Mets lead the division at 7-6, followed by the Phillies (9-9), Marlins (8-9) and Nationals (7-9).
“Anytime you can get an over-.500 road trip, that’s really good,” Snitker said. “There were some good ballgames in there. Hopefully it’s the start of something and we’re finding ourselves, getting ourselves going a little bit.”
Credit: Atlanta Braves
Stat of the game
1 (Riley recorded his first extra-base hit this season with his ninth-inning homer)
Quotable
“Two wins? That’s all you can ask for.” - Anderson, who grew up a Red Sox fan, is 2-0 against the Yankees in his young career.
Up next
The Braves are off Thursday before opening a seven-game homestand Friday against the Diamondbacks. They’ll play Arizona three times and host the Cubs for the next four games.
