ANAHEIM, Calif. – A night after they failed time and again with men in scoring position, the Braves had an opportunity right away. Baseball will do this – the next chance comes soon.
The Braves took full advantage with two first-inning hits with men in scoring position. The second, Marcell Ozuna’s three-run bomb, put them ahead for good and began what became a rout.
The Braves blew out the Angels, 11-3, on Saturday at Angel Stadium. The teams will play for the series on Sunday afternoon, which is the final contest of Atlanta’s three-city, 10-game road trip.
Five observations on the dominant victory:
1. Facing Griffin Canning, Michael Harris II led off the game with a double. Austin Riley singled to put runners on the corners for Ozuna.
Canning hung a slider, and Ozuna punished it for a 437-foot blast.
“That was good,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s big, when we’re struggling to score runs, to do it like that, give Chris (Sale) some support. It was a nice win.”
The sequence, which happened quickly, set the tone for a blowout victory. The Braves continued scoring versus Canning and the relievers who followed. In the fifth inning, they hung five runs, with the help of a leadoff shot from Whit Merrifield – his first as a Brave – and a two-run bomb from Ramón Laureano.
The Braves started 5-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Saturday was the fourth time Atlanta has scored 11 or more runs in 123 games this season.
On this road trip, the Braves have had scoring outputs of 13, 11 and 11 in nine games. They could be finding their way offensively.
On Friday, the Braves scored the first two runs of the game, but allowed the Angels to hang around in what became a loss.
On Saturday, Atlanta didn’t let up.
2. Those three runs were enough for Sale, who allowed two over six innings – both in the sixth.
Did you expect anything less from Sale? When the Braves need it most, he brings it.
“It’s great,” Snitker said of having Sale for these big games down the stretch. “That’s what you want. You want all these guys to step up and be the guy. And you need that if you’re gonna accomplish anything. You need guys like that.”
Atlanta suffered a tough loss on Friday – a winnable game. Had the Braves lost Saturday, they would’ve dropped series to two of baseball’s worst teams on this road trip alone.
The Braves provided Sale with some cushion before he even stepped foot on the mound. He delivered for them – again.
Sale’s stellar season is a remarkable story after the injuries he went through over the last few years.
“It’s great, just to get back and be able to do what he loves to do,” Snitker said. “This guy’s a ballplayer. He loves everything about what he’s (doing). He loves to come to the ballpark and do his work, be a great teammate. Just dedicated to what he’s doing, and he’s a ballplayer.”
3. Here’s something wild to monitor going forward: Both Sale and Ozuna could win a triple crown this season.
The pitching triple crown is when a pitcher leads his league in wins, ERA and strikeouts. And for a batter to win a triple crown, he must lead his league in batting average, home runs and RBIs.
With Saturday’s performance, Sale leads all National League pitchers with 14 wins, a 2.62 ERA and 186 strikeouts. This also makes him the clear NL Cy Young frontrunner.
“I don’t put a whole lot into it,” he said of the triple crown topic. “There’s a left column and a right column, and we want to stack as many on the left as we can. We’re getting late in the year and wins are crucial, and that’s what we’re in it for.”
If the season ended Saturday, Sale would be the first pitcher to win the triple crown since Cleveland’s Shane Bieber in 2020. He’d be the first to do it over a full 162-game season since the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw and Detroit’s Justin Verlander in 2011.
Ozuna has 36 homers, 93 RBIs and a .307 batting average. He leads the NL in RBIs.
No one has won a batting triple crown since Miguel Cabrera in 2012.
“Amazing,” Ozuna said of the thought of him and Sale both winning the triple crown. “If God gives me the opportunity to beat (Shohei) Ohtani, I’d be full of happiness.”
4. Could Ozuna win the NL MVP Award? He’s certainly a candidate.
Let’s be clear: The Dodgers’ Ohtani has more home runs than Ozuna (38 to 36) and a higher OPS (.990 to .969). Ohtani has 37 stolen bases and Ozuna doesn’t have any. But Ozuna has a better batting average (.307 to .291) and more RBIs (93 to 87).
Ohtani might be the MVP frontrunner at this point.
But here’s some context that could strengthen Ozuna’s case: For much of the season, he’s carried a struggling lineup. Despite the injuries around him, he’s continued mashing.
“No, that’s a good point, because he’s stepped up big time, that’s for sure,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said before Friday’s series opener. “He’s gotten a lot of big hits for us. That’s huge when (guys) go down and (other) guys step up and shoulder the burden and the load, and he’s sure done that and more.”
Ozuna keeps hitting.
“I know DHs don’t get enough love for MVP votes or whatever,” Sale said. “But you look at what he’s done for our team, it’s been nothing short of amazing. At times, he’s literally put us on his back and carried this lineup and this team to wins – that we wouldn’t have had otherwise. It’s just fun to watch. I enjoy pitching on those days, too.”
5. In the top of the seventh inning, catcher Travis d’Arnaud was hit in the right wrist by a 94 mph sinker. He stayed in the game to run the bases, but Sean Murphy replaced him for the bottom of the seventh.
Snitker said tests on d’Arnaud’s wrist were negative. He likely won’t start Sunday, as the Braves try to avoid starting the same catcher in a day game after a night game.
“He’ll be sore, I’m sure, (Sunday),” Snitker said. “But I think we’ll see when he gets in here.”
Stat to know
1.24 - In 12 career appearances versus the Angels, Sale is 8-0 with a 1.24 ERA. That ERA is the lowest for any pitcher who has thrown at least 60 innings against the Angels. Sale’s teams are 10-1 in these games. He had 19 consecutive scoreless innings against the Angels before Saturday’s two-run sixth inning.
Quotable
“He’s one of the best pitchers in the league. For me, he’s the Cy Young already.” - Ozuna on Sale
Up next
Charlie Morton will start Sunday’s road trip finale for the Braves, who’ll face Angels right-hander Jack Kochanowicz. The game begins at 4:07 p.m.
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