The Atlanta Braves are getting back on the right track and there seems to be no doubt about it now. After starting the season with seven straight losses, the Braves are now suddenly within striking distance of .500. They had an extremely productive homestand against the Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals, winning five out of six, but there were still questions about whether or not Atlanta could make it happen on the road, especially out west against a good Diamondbacks squad.
The Braves went into this series with an abysmal 2-11 record on the road and the only thing keeping Atlanta from having the worst road record in baseball was the fact that the Colorado Rockies were somehow even worse at 1-14. Simply put, if the Braves were going to continue to dig their way out of the seven-game hole to start the season, then they had to start picking up some wins on the road. Let’s take a look at how the Braves were able to get that done in the desert.
Atlanta Braves vs. Arizona Diamondbacks Series Recap
Game 1: Braves 8, Diamondbacks 2
This was yet another start for Chris Sale where it seemed like it was going to take everything in his power just to get through five innings of this one. Fortunately, he was able to make it through the fifth inning for the third time in six starts. He also was able to hold the Arizona Diamondbacks to just one run while striking out four, giving up five hits and walking two batters. He certainly isn’t back to form yet, but this was still an encouraging start for Sale and a much-needed step in the right direction.
This ended up being one of those games where the Braves bats had Sale’s back. Atlanta took the lead early on thanks to a three-run second inning and once they got into Arizona’s bullpen, they began to pull away.
Atlanta added a pair of runs in the sixth inning to make it a 5-1 game and then they added three more in the eighth inning, which is quickly becoming their favorite inning to make some noise, and the Diamondbacks were only able to add a single run off of Jesse Chavez which brought us to the final score of 8-2. Eli White would have another big night, as he helped push Atlanta to a comfortable victory in the first game of the series.
Game 2: Braves 8, Diamondbacks 7
Eugenio Suárez would hit four home runs in this game. Yes, you read that right! This was only the 19th time in MLB history that someone has gone deep that many times in the same game. We witnessed something truly special on Saturday night. Without knowing the score already, you would think that Arizona cruised in this one.
Fortunately, the Braves delivered a special performance of their own, as they were able to outlast the Diamondbacks in order to make sure that Suárez’s amazing performance ended up being part of a losing effort. Arizona was actually in complete control of this game with a 6-2 lead after six innings. However, Atlanta has made a habit of coming alive late in the game, and sure enough, that’s what happened in this one as well.
White’s two-run homer in the seventh made it a game again at 6-4 and then the Braves made some two-out magic happen in the eighth as two walks, an RBI single from Ozzie Albies, and then a go-ahead RBI double from Michael Harris put the Braves in the lead. Then Suárez’s historic fourth home run in the ninth inning made sure that the game would go to extra innings. A productive out and a wild pitch from Justin MartÃnez helped push the Braves back into the lead in the tenth and then Dylan Lee sat down Arizona in order as the Braves escaped with the victory in extras.
Game 3: Diamondbacks 6, Braves 4
At the start of this series on Friday if you had told Braves fans that Atlanta would be in line for a sweep once Sunday rolled around, just about all of them would be pleasantly surprised. When you consider that Spencer Schwellenbach was making the start in this one as well, it would’ve been safe to assume that the Braves had a good shot at breaking out the brooms and maybe it was even expected.
However, Schwellenbach ended up in a three-run hole after four innings before Atlanta eventually made it on the board with an RBI double from Alex Verdugo in the fifth inning. While Verdugo didn’t exactly have a Suárez game from the night before, he certainly helped give the Braves a boost in this one as he racked up four hits. Unfortunately, Atlanta let some golden opportunities slip as Arizona continued to repel the Braves while taking advantage of their own chances.
Geraldo Perdomo answered Verdugo’s double with a home run in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Braves put two runs on the board in the seventh but the Diamondbacks bounced right back and put two more runs on the board once it was their turn in the seventh. Atlanta gave it a great shot in the ninth as an RBI double from Marcell Ozuna cut the deficit to two runs and they did have the potential go-ahead run at the plate with two outs. However, Albies completed what was a very tough day at the plate with a lineout to center that ended Atlanta’s hopes of sweeping the Snakes.
Final Thoughts
That’s now three straight series wins for the Braves and suddenly there is an outside shot of finishing the month at .500 with a sweep of the Rockies. This is another one of those moments where if you told Braves fans earlier this month that Atlanta would be exiting April with even a shot at .500, they’d take it.
While it may have been easy to assume that their successful homestand was a result of beating up on struggling competition, this was a very impressive series win for the Braves. The Diamondbacks went into this series keeping stride with the other powerhouses in the NL West, so the fact that Atlanta was able to go into the desert and come away with another series win was huge.
While there’s still a long way to go in the season, one thing that appears to be certain is that the Braves are still going to go out there and fight for all 27 outs in any given game. The offense now has a golden opportunity to keep rolling as they’ll be going to the friendliest ballpark to hitters in all of baseball at Coors Field. The Rockies are looking dreadful while the Braves appear to be heading in the right direction and Atlanta will be looking to finish off a great road trip with another strong series in Colorado.
Main Image: Allan Henry-Imagn Images
