Atlanta Braves: Monday’s Win Shows Youth And Improvement
By W. M. Lawson
The Atlanta Braves (17-11) held off the Mets yesterday to win game 1 of a 3 game set. It was a perfect exposition of the team’s improvement.
Anyone with any sense knows that you can’t draw too many conclusions from April and May for what is a long and arduous Major League Baseball season. We’ve beat that drum these last few weeks in this space. But Monday’s win by the Atlanta Braves in New York platformed something that is undeniable and impossible to ignore. Youth carried the team to a win, and last year’s team would’ve lost that game.
The headline from last night’s Big Apple bite from Atlanta was the debut of heralded RHP Mike Soroka. The 6 foot-5 Inch Canadian product not only lived up to his billing, he did it and made it look easy. Soroka finished with a line of 6.0 Innings, 6 Hits, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO, 1 HR, 1.50 ERA. Notice that walk number? If Mike Soroka is that kind of Starting Pitcher, look out.
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That’s only part of the story. The Braves did what you have to do, if you are going to win against Syndergaard: Jump on him early and drive his pitch-count up. That happened, and it was the youth movement that drove that bus.
Top of the 1st, Ozzie Albies singles, Ronald Acuña Jr. doubles, Freddie Freeman doubles, and then Nick Markakis singles. In fact, Mike Soroka, who is hitting in the 8th spot, got to the plate before he got to the mound.
That’s the micro-look at what happened. The macro-look, and big picture, is that in the bottom of the 9th, things went a little catawampus. It felt like one of those games, on the road, that the Atlanta Braves would blow late, and then lose in extra innings.
They didn’t, and it was Acuña, while looking like a rookie heading back to the fence, who eventually hauled in the last out.
Make no mistake about it, any Braves team over the last 5 years would’ve lost that game. This team is different, though. This lineup is not the streaky kind, and it isn’t one where it relies on a few guys. From top to bottom, they produce.
Atlanta might also have the fastest team in all of MLB. If they can get the pitching right, this team could contend for more than respectability this year.
Mike Soroka was right last night. Sean Newcomb, another young gun, goes tonight, and with a win, these Atlanta Braves can win the series in New York, and take the NL East lead.
The future is now in Atlanta.