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Shelby Miller Ends Winless Streak in Final Start

By Matthew Schoettler

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Shelby Miller won his final start of the 2015 season, snapping a 24-start winless streak for the Atlanta Braves’ ace.

Shelby Miller started the 2015 season in dominant fashion, win four of his first six starts for the Atlanta Braves. Miller looked poised to put up his highest win total of his career, previous high of 15 with the St. Louis Cardinals, but Miller struggled to get the run support needed to accumulate wins.

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After Shelby Miller won his fifth game of the season on May 17th, he went 24-straight starts without notching a win. During the 2015 in games Miller started, the Atlanta Braves averaged a measly 2.47 runs per game. Thus, Miller needed to pitch perfectly on the mound if he wanted to see his wins totals trend in a more positive direction.

From the beginning of August until the end of the season, Shelby Miller seemed to run out of gas, posting an 0-9 record with a gaudy 4.62 ERA. During that stretch, the Atlanta Braves went a collective 1-10, showing how poorly Miller pitched. However, in his final start of the 2015 season, Miller finally snapped his 24-start winless streak, as the Braves won 6-0.

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Shelby Miller pitched an absolute gem against his former team, the St. Louis Cardinals. Miller threw eight innings of shutout baseball, only giving up a minuscule three hits. Also, Miller racked up seven strikeouts in his strong season-ending start. Miller likely wanted to show the St. Louis Cardinals exactly what they traded away when they acquired Jason Heyward, and he did exactly that.

Although the Cardinals clinched a playoff spot, they still started their best lineup, so that makes Shelby Miller’s final start all-the-more impressive. With the strong start, Miller lowered his ERA to 3.02, his best ERA of his young career. Most of the damage done in game-1 of Sunday’s doubleheader came off the bat of Adonis Garcia, crushing two 2-run home runs during the game. 

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Shelby Miller’s final record for the season will sit at 6-17, but his record does not paint the full picture on his strong 2015 season. Miller finally shook the monkey off his back by breaking his streak, and he could post stronger numbers in seasons to come. Miller will look to build on his 2015 All-Star season, and he should enter the 2016 season as either the Atlanta Braves’ ace or number-two starter.

Miller is six days away from his 25th birthday and should stay as a fixture in the Braves’ rotation for years. At 24 years old, Shelby Miller is one of the best young pitchers in the game, and the Braves will want to keep him in Atlanta for as long as possible. Miller was a lone bright spot in a terrible 2015 season. Hopefully, 2016 will bring greener pastures to the Atlanta Braves.

Next: Pedro Ciriaco: Braves' Bench Option for 2016?

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