Preview: Braves vs Nationals Game 2
The Braves look to avenge last night’s 11-2 schlacking from the Nationals, tonight against left-handed Patrick Corbin.
Not only did last night’s loss ruin a replica ring giveaway at the stadium, it ruined the Braves plan for tonight on the mound.
Both reported starting candidates, Spencer Strider & Tucker Davidson, threw multiple innings in an effort to preserve as much of the bullpen as they could. Strider threw 71 pitches & Tucker threw 58; pretty much eliminating them from being available until at least Friday.
The Braves are determined to maintain an extra day of rest for the rotation prior to turning it over, so Atlanta called up Bryce Elder to toe the rubber tonight at Truist, his first career MLB appearance. To make room for Elder, William Contreras & Tucker Davidson were both optioned to Gwinnett. While catcher Chadwick Tromp was designated for assignment.
Keeping Strider with the big league ball club is, to me, a dead giveaway that Strider has earned a large role with the team. My preference would be for him to take Huascar Ynoa’s spot in the roatation & Ynoa to settle in for good down in the bullpen. But, that’s probably because I’ve always seen Ynoa as a reliever, *shoulder shrugs*.
Who the Braves run out there on the mound tonight doesn’t really matter unless the Braves can get their offense jumpstarted. For instance, Marcell Ozuna’s singlenin the bottom of the 1st was the last hit by a Brave until Marcell Ozuna’s single one the bottom of the 9th; largely against a AAA spot-starter.
Yikes.
The good news is the Braves have historically been very good against Patrick Corbin. Corbin has a career 6-7 record with a 3.48 ERA& 95 strikeouts in his 17 appearances against Atlanta. He’s faced the Braves as a National & as a Diamondback.
Corbin’s lost his last six games against Atlanta, dating back to September of 2019.
Take a look below, at his 2021 MLB rankings. Powered by Baseball Savant.
If the Braves can’t get in the win column tonight, their offense is off to a slower start than even we knew.