The Braves were a foot (literally) away from sweeping the Philadelphia Phillies.
In between an 11-inning loss Saturday, the Braves rallied from a 5-0 deficit and pounded 19 hits in a 15-2 victory to open the year 2-1. They scored 27 runs in the opening series, 22 more than last year’s opening set against the New York Mets.
The Braves’ lone loss came in part because Peter Bourjos’ front foot floated above the plate, which had him tagged out rather than score the go-ahead run in the eighth inning.
The Braves are already a third of the way to matching last season’s win total against the Phillies (six in 19 tries).
“It’s always going to be good when you win a series,” manager Brian Snitker said. “We were a slide away from sweeping the series. So it’s a good way to start. We played some good baseball. Everybody had a part of it. It was a good opening series.”
Snitker’s team punctuated the series with a 19-hit, 15-run offensive masterpiece. It was the most runs the Braves have scored since May 12, 2012, also against the Phillies.
It was their third consecutive series win over Philadelphia. The Braves at one point lost seven straight games against their Pennsylvania rivals last season.
“Getting a series win, we’ll take that,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “We played really good baseball this whole series. So it’s nice going into the off day and we have to prepare for a tough matchup (the Nationals) these upcoming games.”
One noticeable takeaway from series No. 1: The Braves did the little things, just as Freeman promised they would before opening day.
They displayed the smart baserunning preached throughout spring training. They executed timely bunts. They found the gaps. They played mostly solid defense, save catcher Kurt Suzuki’s two-error Saturday.
Freeman made it clear on multiple occasions that’s their formula to win. They won’t do what they did opening day – three homers, including Nick Markakis’ walk-off – very often. They homered just once in the next two games.
But overall, the Braves can’t complain. They found something positive in every aspect.
“We had some really good starting pitching, I thought, in the series,” Snitker said. “The bullpen’s going to kind of work. You start with it, they have a way of working and defining their roles as you play. We had some really good offensive things happen this series. And the defense was really good also.
“So some good team wins. We did a lot of really nice things fundamentally with the bunting and moving runners, going first to third on base hits. Things like taking an extra base. I thought we played some really good baseball those three days.”
They’ll need to play even better if they’re going to top the Nationals in their second series of the homestand. Washington is the heavy favorite to again claim the National League East crown.
But it would help if surprising contributors prove more than a flash in the pan. Ryan Flaherty, who joined the team a week ago, became the third third baseman in franchise history to have four hits and score four runs in a game on Saturday. He had seven hits in the set.
Catcher Chris Stewart, thrust into action after Tyler Flowers and Suzuki went down with injuries, had two hits and two RBIs the same night. Starter Brandon McCarthy also gave him credit for steering him through a rough beginning to his start.
Snitker called Stewart’s performance “spectacular” for his all-around play.
“I think I’m going to wake up here any second,” Stewart said. “Just try to take advantage of my opportunities and it worked out (Saturday night).”
The Braves have clearly adopted Freeman’s philosophy. They don’t boast an Aaron Judge-Giancarlo Stanton combo. Classic NL-style will make or break them.
“We can do a lot of damage without hitting the ball out of the park so far,” said McCarthy, a 12-year veteran. “I think before Lane (Adams) hit that home run (on Saturday), a 15-run game without a home run in Major League Baseball in 2018, that’s not common. There’s a lot of guys with really good approaches who aren’t giving up at-bats and that’s a really positive thing from where we’re going to go as the season goes.
“You don’t forfeit at-bats, you stay in front of things. So many guys just hit the ball where they’re supposed to, hit the ball where it’s pitched. It’s really encouraging.”
A three-game sample size is just that. But if it proves the norm, the Braves will be among the most spirited and competitive groups in the senior circuit.
Whether or not that translates to wins over the course of the season remains to be seen.
