NEW YORK – This was a weird weekend. The Braves and Mets played a game, then sat idle for two days. Then came the odd Monday series finale – and it was a doubleheader.
The Braves split it, winning the first game 9-8 before losing the second 5-3. Atlanta is 19-10.
Five observations on Monday’s doubleheader:
1. To this point, Sean Murphy has exceeded expectations offensively.
“That’s a strong man, I’ll tell you that,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s a threat, definitely, every time he goes up there.”
By mashing a pair of three-run bombs in the first game, Murphy had eight homers and 22 RBI in the season’s first 25 games. (Game 2 was game No. 26 for him.) It’s May 1, and Murphy hit these marks quicker than he ever has in his career.
In a shortened 2020 season, he hit seven home runs and drove in 14 runs over 43 games.
In 2021, he didn’t hit his eighth homer until June 15, his 56th game of the season. He didn’t drive in his 22nd run until his 42nd game.
Last season, he launched his eighth homer on June 19, in his 61st game. He didn’t reach 22 RBIs until he had played 46 games.
Murphy said he’s not doing anything different in 2023.
There’s this, though: He’s playing in what might be baseball’s best lineup, which usually means there’ll be better pitches to hit.
“It helps being in a deep lineup,” Murphy, a catcher, said. “I know it from calling games: A deep lineup sometimes handcuffs you.”
2. Spencer Strider is a routine-oriented person. He’s purposeful in his preparation for each start. He keeps track of everything, and does it all with intent.
For the most part, he can decide what goes into that routine.
He could not anticipate the rain, though. It forced him to start two days later than anticipated, meaning he went a week between starts. (Or, if you want to be exact, he had six full days between each of his outings.)
“It’s something you can’t control,” Strider, who started the first game, said. “Try not to do too much. Don’t do anything you wouldn’t do normally. Kind of take advantage of the rest. It was difficult to throw last couple days, so felt like I kind of lost some feel without the catch play. But that’s part of it. You don’t always have your best stuff. You’ve got to figure out how to get outs.
Strider had a rough start to his afternoon, but recovered to complete five innings. After a scoreless fourth, he told Snitker this: “I can throw all day.”
“I felt that way the whole game,” Strider said. “I always feel that way. I would prefer to just throw 300 pitches and stay in the game. I’ll figure it out eventually.”
3. In the top half of the sixth inning in Game 2, Eddie Rosario cleared the bases with a double, which swung the momentum and gave the Braves a lead.
In the bottom half, the Mets rallied for two runs against Charlie Morton and Michael Tonkin to retake the lead.
It looked as if the Braves would steal a doubleheader sweep. Instead, they fell behind again, and then dropped into a two-run hole when Joe Jiménez gave up a solo shot.
“That first one, man, we expended a lot of energy,” Snitker said. “I’m just glad we won it, because that would’ve been a really tough loss. ...We were kind of laying dead in the water there for a minute, and the next thing you know, we got the lead in the second game, so all of the sudden, you’re going to go for it with what you’ve got.”
4. Leading off the second game, Ronald Acuña Jr. was hit by a pitch and exited with what the Braves termed a left shoulder contusion.
After the game, Snitker said Acuña’s X-rays came back negative, but that the Braves sent him to the hospital for further imaging, just to ensure nothing else was wrong. That imaging revealed that there was no fracture, and the outfielder is day-to-day.
5. Charlie Morton was charged with four runs over 5 1/3 innings in the second game. Two Mets, whom he walked back to back before exiting, scored after he departed.
Last season, he struggled in the first month and searched for answers.
His take on the start of this year:
“I mean, it’s kind of been a mixed bag. But I feel better about where I am right now, especially with my breaking ball. I think the ball’s coming out OK. Stuff’s good. I think I’ve put myself in a decent spot there through five, six innings now a couple times, to be able to work in the sixth and seventh inning even more. Today’s frustrating. The guys take a lead there. I get an out and I walk two guys there. It just can’t happen. All in all, I feel like I’m in an OK spot.”
Stat to know
57 - Strider leads all major-league pitchers with 57 strikeouts.
Quotable
“Any time you can win a series is a plus, especially against a division rival.”-Murphy on the weekend
Up next
In Tuesday’s series opener in Miami, Bryce Elder will face Miami ace Sandy Alcantara. The game begins at 6:40 p.m.
