Overanalyzing opening day baseball performances is silly. Bad form to read too much into one game, much less the first.
But we’re gonna do it anyway!
Right after we jump into some second-round voting for our Gladness vs. Sadness bracket.
Quick links: Padres 7, Braves 4 | Trae makes history | NIL ain’t all bad | Tech baseball coach retiring
ON TO ROUND 2
Credit: Cayce Dunn/AJC
Credit: Cayce Dunn/AJC
The No. 1 seeds on both the sadness and gladness sides of the bracket (28-3 and the ‘95 Braves, respectively) easily advanced into the second round of our competition.
Yes, the second round! Finally!
And we’ve got some juicy initial matchups to vote on today.
💔 THE MISERY MATCHUP: Jim Leyritz vs. 2nd-and-26
Does Yankee catcher Jim Leyritz’s three-run homer in Game 4 of the 1996 World Series (and the subsequent Braves collapse) still keep you up at night?
Does Tua Tagovailoa’s improbable overtime touchdown pass in the 2018 national championship game still break your little Bulldog heart?
The answer may well be “yes” to both — but you gotta choose!
❤️ THE FOND MEMORY FACEOFF: Band-Aid Braves vs. Atlanta’s Olympics
The Braves’ 2021 World Series championship came a little out of nowhere — and helped quench the thirst of a title-parched fan base.
The 1996 Summer Olympics are the Cinderella of this bracket, a No. 7 seed that’s already used civic pride and nostalgia (Muhammad Ali! Kerri Strug!) to dispatch historically good UGA football teams.
But which one’s better?
CAST YOUR VOTE HERE, THEN CHECK BACK MONDAY FOR RESULTS AND THE NEXT MATCHUP.
NOT QUITE ENOUGH
Credit: Gregory Bull/AP
Credit: Gregory Bull/AP
Well, the Braves couldn’t quite pull off an opening day win, falling 7-4 to the Padres in San Diego. A four-run seventh inning surrendered by the bullpen was the difference.
1️⃣ Sale solid: Reigning Cy Young winner Chris Sale recovered from a shaky, two-run first inning and went five. He struck out six.
“First one is always tough; there are high emotions. But just a grind, really, from the first batter,” he said.
2️⃣ Albies, Riley go deep: Hard to think of any duo that could be more heartened by a good start than Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley. Both guys spent large chunks of 2024 beat-up or slumping — and both went yard Thursday.
(Outfielder Jurickson Profar went 1-for-5 in his Braves debut, scoring on a first-inning fielder’s choice. The crowd in San Diego cheered him.)
3️⃣ Bumpy bullpen: The Braves were up 4-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh. Then reliever Hector Neris (an offseason acquisition) gave up a homer and two more hits, leaving men on for Aaron Bummer. A total of four runs scored.
An inauspicious start for a bullpen we knew might a bit of an adventure this season. Said manager Brian Snitker, in part: “We’re gonna run ‘em out there, we gotta pitch ‘em all early and we’ll see how they stack up.”
4️⃣ If you’re not already, sign up for the Braves Report newsletter. It comes out every weekday afternoon — and today we have extra insight from beat writer Justin Toscano.
WEEKEND WATCH PARTY
The Savannah Bananas kick off a two-day run of goofy fun at Truist Park on Saturday. The games are long sold out — but there’s plenty more sports action headed our way.
Tonight: More on this momentarily, but: Sweet 16 action officially arrives in Atlanta, with Michigan State vs. Ole Miss at 7:09 p.m. and Auburn vs. Michigan at 9:39 p.m. Both games are on CBS.
- Braves at Padres, 9:40 p.m. on FanDuel Sports Networks.
Saturday: Atlanta United tries to get its second win of the season when it hosts NYCFC, the club new United manager Ronny Deila led to the 2021 MLS Cup. 7:30 p.m. on Apple TV.
- Braves at Padres, 7:15 p.m. on Fox.
Sunday: The Hawks visit Milwaukee (7 p.m. on FanDuel Sports Southeast) and the Braves finish their series with the Padres (7:10 on ESPN).
We don’t know the time yet, but at some point the winners from Friday’s men’s Sweet 16 games face off for a chance to go to the Final Four in San Antonio.
STATE FARM GETS SWEET
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
In Thursday’s pre-Sweet 16 news conference, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl praised the high school basketball talent in the Atlanta area — but said his team playing there won’t mean much in recruiting.
“Right now, when it comes to recruiting, I don’t know how much that means to an Atlanta high school player,” he said. “Right now, it is more about the NIL.”
Perhaps that’s true. But columnist Ken Sugiura argues it ain’t all bad — just look at what the money helps some players do.
(Between you and me … our friend has a point.)
More AJC Sweet 16 coverage:
🏀 Photos: Teams prepare for Sweet 16 in Atlanta
🏀 Michigan State’s Izzo still hunting for another title
🏀 Full NCAA Tournament bracket
PORTAL BLUES
Georgia and Georgia Tech basketball, meanwhile, are both getting hit hard by the transfer portal.
😬 UGA point guard Silas Demary Jr., the team’s second-leading scorer, announced his plans Thursday to both enter the portal and test the NBA waters. That means the Bulldogs could follow their NCAA Tournament appearance by trying to replace both him and Asa Newell.
😬 The Georgia Tech women may be in an even tougher spot, with FIVE players planning to depart — including freshman star Dani Carnegie.
WHAT A NUMBER: 1,432
That’s how many wins Georgia Tech baseball coach Danny Hall has in his 38-year career (which includes 32 on North Avenue). The total ranks 10th all-time among Division I coaches.
Hall announced Thursday that he’ll retire after this season, which has the Jackets sitting at 21-4 and cracking the top 25 in several polls. They start a home series with Clemson tonight.
🦴 Over in Athens: Third-ranked Georgia hosts No. 11 Auburn this weekend.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: Gregory Bull/AP
Credit: Gregory Bull/AP
Braves catcher Drake Baldwin went 0-for-3 with a walk (but almmmmost hit a homer to center) in his major league debut. He looked comfortable behind the plate.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
He's as prepared for this opportunity as anybody. He might give you a different answer but again, he did a great job leading me through that one after a rocky first inning.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of Sports Daily. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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