CINCINNATI — In a time when they cannot afford losses to inferior teams, the Braves sent a message.
They scored a season-high 15 runs (they had scored 13 runs one time) and tied a season high with 18 hits (done one other time). They took two of three from Cincinnati.
Thursday’s final from Great American Ball Park: 15-3, Braves.
“These guys, for as long as I can remember, they’ve got a really good way about turning the page,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “And every day is a new day in this game, and these guys epitomize that. They can put it behind them (after) a bad one. They don’t rest on the laurels on a good one. They come out every day to play the game and beat you.”
A cool note on the win: According to Elias Sports Bureau, the Braves became the first team in MLB history (since 1900) to hit four three-run homers in a game.
Five observations:
1. In late December, Braves president of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos acquired Chris Sale for Vaughn Grissom and cash. The Braves would get a fiery veteran who would bolster their rotation, while Boston would move on from Sale and receive six years of control of Grissom.
Who could have seen this coming?
Anthopoulos dealt Grissom to get the likely National League Cy Young Award winner. Oh, and don’t forget this: Boston paid the Braves $17 million, which covers the entirety of Sale’s salary this season.
With two runs over five innings Thursday, Sale has a 2.38 ERA – which leads the majors among qualified starters. His 17 wins lead all of MLB. So, too, do his 225 strikeouts.
What case could a voter make for anyone but Sale as the NL Cy Young?
“For me, I can’t,” Snitker said. “If they dissect his body of work, I think it’s a slam dunk, quite honestly – the year he’s had. If you go game to game and what he’s been through, and how he’s navigated these games for us, in big moments in a lot of games. There’s other guys that are having great years, but this guy is, to me, above everybody.”
Sale should win the NL Cy Young. He also could win a pitching triple crown. The crazy part: To do that, a pitcher needs to lead his own league in ERA, wins and strikeouts – but Sale leads the entire sport in these categories.
Grissom, on the other hand, has taken 81 at-bats in the majors this season. That’s not to disparage Grissom, but to show how lopsided this trade – at least initially – is for the Braves.
Sale’s next start, which will come against the Mets, will again come with postseason implications. The Braves can bring him back on regular rest to start Tuesday, which would allow them to have him for the season finale. But they can also give him the extra day of rest and throw him Wednesday.
Either way, Sale will be ready.
“That’s what he lives for,” Snitker said.
2. The Braves couldn’t win easily without a scare, right? That’s not how this season has gone.
The latest worry: Sale’s velocity.
But no fear! Sale isn’t concerned.
“Sometimes you feel great, sometimes you just gotta find a way through it,” Sale said. “Day game, hot. Just had to find a way to get through that one.”
Sale on Thursday averaged 92.7 mph with his four-seam fastball – down 2.2 mph from his season average. He threw one at 89.4 mph (his slowest four-seamer of the season) and two others at 89.7 mph – all in the fourth and fifth innings.
Before this start, Sale had hurled 15 four-seamers at 91 mph or under this season. He threw eight alone against the Reds – all after the third inning.
“Yeah, the fastball just felt kind of weird today as a whole,” Sale said. “The last couple of starts, I’ve just felt like it’s kind of flying out. I don’t know if it’s something with my front side or just staying back over the rubber. But was able to be effective with my change-up, felt like my change-up was really good start – and (I could) mix in and out when I needed to.”
Snitker wasn’t concerned, either.
“I could tell he was beat,” Snitker said. “I just think it was hot, it’s an early game. Those old bones probably didn’t have a chance to get going real good. But the way he competed and grinded through that thing, especially in that last inning, the last batter, he’s different. He’s got 18 wins for a reason. It was just one of them days. We’re late in the season, a day game. He was just kind of willing himself through that thing.”
3. This series, the top of the Braves’ order went ballistic. This is something they can use more of in the final week of the season.
Together, Michael Harris II, Jorge Soler, Marcell Ozuna and Matt Olson combined to go 20-for-49 with 10 home runs and 20 RBIs. And a look at the games individually will give you a better sense of the heavy lifting they did.
We’ll go from the series finale to the series opener.
Thursday: 8-for-16, five homers, 12 RBIs.
Wednesday: 6-for-16, two homers, four RBIs.
Tuesday: 6-for-17, three homers, four RBIs.
“Been great,” Snitker said. “Because we need those guys to go, and hopefully they’re kind of getting a little momentum. This is a good place to start. It’s kind of conducive to hitting here in this ballpark. … It was a good series to win. (The Reds are) dangerous. They have good, young talent.”
Now, can the Braves get similar production for the next week? If so, they’ll be dangerous and will have a better chance of playing in October.
“Yeah, that was good going into the last road series and going back home to finish it off to make a final push,” Harris said. “That’s good to have the offense going later in the season and carry on into the playoffs.”
4. How did the Braves entice Olson to get on the plane to Miami? He clearly loves Great American Ball Park.
Olson homered twice Thursday, which was his ninth career game at this place. He’s had 37 at-bats here, and has homered seven times with 16 RBIs. He launched three homers in this three-game series.
“I think it’s just the park,” Olson said. “It’s a smaller park, shorter right-field fence. A couple balls just get out here that aren’t getting out at other places. It’s fun as a hitter.”
Suddenly, Olson has 28 home runs and 94 RBIs. His OPS is nearing .800.
This is a positive for the Braves, who badly need Olson to keep producing if they want to make the postseason. He’ll have to be one of the guys to carry this group.
“He’s a manager’s joy, I’ll tell you that,” Snitker said. “You don’t worry about him. You just put him in there and he’s gonna take care of things. He prepares and he takes care of himself. He’s a special guy, too.”
5. The Braves’ starters for the Miami series are as follows: Charlie Morton on Friday, Max Fried on Saturday and Grant Holmes on Sunday. Holmes stays in the rotation in place of Reynaldo López, who remains on the injured list.
The Braves need three wins over the Marlins, who are the final losing team they’ll play this season. They have the Mets and Royals next week.
Thursday’s performance – and really, Wednesday and Thursday’s games – are reason for optimism.
“You hope you can take something like this and keep the momentum rolling,” Sale said. “We got a couple-hour flight down to Miami, and hopefully we keep it rolling there.”
Stat to know
18 – Sale has allowed no more than two earned runs in each of his past 18 starts, dating to June 7. It’s the longest single-season run of starts with two or fewer earned runs by a full-time starter since earned runs became an official statistic in both leagues in 1913.
Quotable
“We know where we’re at, we know what we’re up against. It’s right there in front of us. You can’t win yesterday’s game, and you can’t win tomorrow’s game. You gotta win the game that’s in front of you, and we kind of hold true to that and keep our eye on what’s in front of us, and not get too far ahead, not worry about what happened.” – Sale
Up next
Friday’s game begins at 7:10 p.m.
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