SAN DIEGO PADRES NOTES:
Carpenter, Cronenworth homer, but Padres fall 7-6 to Braves in 1st road game of the year
• Blake Snell went just 3.2 innings (went just 4.1 IP on Opening Day on March 30), and he allowed 4 runs (earned) on 6 hits with 4 walks, and 2 strikeouts…his 2nd SO of Sam Hilliard was the 1,000th of his career, making him the 15th active pitcher to have 1,000 strikeouts since ’16 (teammate Yu Darvish has 1,111 K’s since ’16).
• The Braves out-hit the Padres 13-7…Manny Machado doubled, and both Jake Cronenworth and Matt Carpenter homered…it was Cronenworth’s 1st HR of the year and Carpenters’ 1st HR as a Padre. Padres 11 homers are most in the 1st 7 games to start a season in club history
• Until this year, the Padres had never had more than 9 home runs in their 1st 7 games to start a season, and in 2023, they’ve hit 11 homers in their 1st 7…their 11 long balls tie with the Braves’ 11 for the 3rd most in the National League behind the Giants’ 15 and the Dodgers’ 14. Friar bullpen looks to lower ERA
• The San Diego bullpen enters tonight’s game sporting the 3rd-highest ERA in the big leagues (5.84, 16 ER, 24.2 IP)… opposing batters are hitting .310 against them so far.
Padres in a stretch of playing 18 games in 18 days and 21 games in 22 days
• San Diego had their 1st off day on Wednesday and will not enjoy their 2nd one until April 24th, playing 18 games in 18 days from April 6-23.
• San Diego is also starting the regular season with 24 games in 25 days… they had 1 off day on April 5, they will have one in Chicago on April 24th, and they’ll have their 1st off day in San Diego on April 28.
• After April 23rd, the Padres will have 3 off days in 11 days from April 24-May 8.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – NICK MARTINEZ 21
Martinez aims to even series in Game 2 Right-hander Nick Martinez takes the mound for Game 2 of this 4-game set tonight vs. Atlanta at Truist Park…it will be his 3rd appearance and 2nd start vs. the Braves…he tossed 2.0 scoreless frames in a relief role back on Sept 4, 2017 while with TEX…he made his 2nd start as a Padre last season on April 16 at Petco Park, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits on a career-high 3 home runs for the 7th time in SD’s 5-2 defeat.
Nick vs. the Braves bats
Active ATL hitters are a combined 12-for-39 (.308) vs. Nick, with Matt Olson (4-for-9; .444 w/ 2 HR) and Marcell Ozuna (3-for-6; .500 w/ 1 HR) leading the way…Ozzie Albies and Eddie Rosario have also both homered off Martinez
Representin’
On February 19, 2023, Team USA announced that Martinez replaced Clayton Kershaw on the 30-man roster for the United States team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic…he started Game 2 of pool play against Team Mexico and was the losing pitcher, allowing five hits and three runs with two strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings of the 11-5 defeat…after he wasn’t guaranteed to start for Team USA for the rest of the event, he returned to Padres spring training to prepare for the start of the major league season.
Cactus League play
Martinez went 2-1 with 1.93 ERA across his 4 Cactus League starts this Spring…he struck out 19 across 14.0 IP and opponents hit .245 against him.
Nick’s with us
He originally signed with SD on March 16, 2022 to a 1-year contract for the 2022 season with player options for 2023, 2024 and 2025…exercised his opt out clause after the ’22 season, but re-signed with SD to a 3-year contract through 2025 with a club option covering the 2024 and 2025 seasons…if the club option is declined, Martinez holds two separate player options and can either opt-out or extend the contract through 2024 and 2025.
A one-man category
In 2022, he converted 8 of his 9 save opportunities and collected 8 holds while also making 10 starts…he’s the only pitcher in MLB history to have 4+ holds and 8+ saves while also making 10+ starts in a single campaign.
Dad strength
After returning from the paternity list following the birth of his daughter, Stella, on August 1, 2022, he posted a career-long 15.0 scoreless-inning streak from Aug. 1 to Aug. 29 across 11 appearances. It was the 2nd-longest streak among all SD relievers in ‘22, trailing only Tim Hill (18.2 scoreless IP from July 9-Sept 6).
A Postseason to remember
Made his MLB Postseason debut in ’22, highlighted by 8.1 consecutive-scoreless innings across his 6 NLDS and NLCS appearances vs. LAD and PHI. In Game 4 of the NLCS at PHI, he became the first reliever in Padres’ franchise Postseason history to throw 3.0+ IP without allowing a hit after starter Mike Clevinger failed to record an out in SD’s 10-6 defeat.
Back where he belongs
Prior to ’22, he last pitched in the States between 2014- 17 with the Texas Rangers…in his first 4 Major League seasons, the Miami, Fla. native went 17-30 with a 4.77 ERA (220 ER, 415.1 IP) and 237 strikeouts in 88 games (68 starts).
ATLANTA BRAVES NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Braves and Padres tonight continue a four-game weekend set with the second of seven scheduled meetings between the two teams this season…The teams will play again just eight days after the conclusion of this series with a three-game set at Petco Park.
• The Braves beat the Padres, 7-6, last night in Atlanta’s first walk-off-win of the season.
• Atlanta dropped the season series to San Diego, four-games-to-three, last season, snapping a streak of five straight seasons of winning the set…The Braves went 24-16 (.600) against the Padres from 2015-2021.
• The Braves are 12-7 against the Padres here at Truist Park, although they have lost five of the last eight games between the teams here…One of those games was suspended and then completed at Petco Park in 2021…Atlanta’s first series in the history of Truist Park came versus San Diego, and resulted in a four-game sweep for the Braves from April 14-17, 2017.
• LH Jared Shuster is set for just the second start of his major league career after debuting against Washington last Sunday…Currently rated as Atlanta’s top overall prospect by MLB.com, Shuster allowed six hits, four runs and five walks over 4.2 innings in his debut, with three hits, three walks and all four runs coming in the first inning… Originally selected by Atlanta in the first round (25th overall) of the 2020 First-Year Player Draft, Shuster has pitched to a 9-10 record and a 3.69 ERA (87 ER/212.1 IP) in 45 total appearances in the minors, including 42 starts.
• RH Nick Martinez has made two appearances and one start in his career against Atlanta, going 0-1 with a 5.14 ERA (4 ER/5.0 IP)…In his only start against the Braves, April 16 of last season at Petco Park, he allowed seven hits and four runs over 5.0 innings to take the loss…The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Miami native made his season debut on March 31 vs. Colorado, and allowed six hits and four runs over 7.0 innings in the loss.
WINS: Atlanta’s win yesterday moved the club to 6-1 through its first seven games, its best start to a season since also going 6-1 in 2015…The Braves have outscored their opponents, 39-20, over the first seven games.
• The Braves have now started 6-1 or better through seven games nine times since moving to Atlanta in 1966, and have made the postseason in four of those first eight such seasons.
• There was no postseason in 1994 when Atlanta started a perfect 6-0, and the club missed the playoffs in 2015, 2007 and 1983.
• Atlanta did not win its sixth game last season until the 13th game of the year, and was not five games over .500 until June 10 (32-27)…The Braves would go on to win 101 games on the season.
ROSTER MOVES: The Braves today recalled OF Eli White to Atlanta and placed OF Michael Harris II on the 10-day injured list with a lower back strain…White will wear No. 38 for Atlanta.
• In four games at Triple-A Gwinnett this season, White slashed .235/.350/.765 (4-for-17) with three walks.
• Three of his four hits were home runs, tied for fifth at the Triple-A level…His pair of stolen bases are tied for 13th in Triple-A.
FIRST INNING: The Braves scored another run in yesterday’s first inning…The club scored in the first in all three games of the series in St. Louis…Atlanta’s nine first-inning runs this season are the most in the majors.
• The Braves lead the majors in first-inning hits (15), homers (4) and extra-base hits (6).
• The Braves only scored 71 runs in the first inning last season, seventh fewest in the majors and the least of any playoff team.
TWO STRIKES: Atlanta logged six hits in two-strike counts yesterday, their second most this season.
• The Braves’ 32 two-strike hits this year lead the National League…The Toronto Blue Jays are the only team with more in the majors (35).
• The club’s 21 RBI in two strike counts are easily the most in the majors, five ahead of Tampa Bay…The next closest National League club, San Francisco, has 14 two-strike RBI.
TWO OUTS: The Braves’ plated five of their seven runs in yesterday’s victory with two outs, their most in a game this season.
• Entering play, Atlanta had scored a total of nine two-out runs over their first six contests.
• Last season, the Braves’ scored five or more runs with two outs within a single-game 22 times — matching New York (NL) for the most such games in MLB.
RONALD ACUÑA JR.: Has hit safely in six of seven games this season, turning in four multi-hit efforts – tied for the most in the majors…Has scored in six straight games dating to March 31.
• His six-game scoring streak is the longest active in the majors, and his longest since scoring in eight straight from May 6-21 last season.
• Has recorded a hit to lead off the game in each of the Braves’ six wins this season, coming around to score on four of those instances…His six hits in the first inning are the most across MLB, besting Colorado’s Kris Bryant (5).
• Among leadoff batters over the the last two seasons, Acuña Jr. ranks fifth in multi-hit games (40), seventh in hits (133), eighth in runs (77) and eighth in extra-base hits (42).
Tonight’s Starting Pitcher – #45 Jared Shuster
Tonight’s Game
• Set to make his first appearance against San Diego.
• Will be his second career start.
• Made his major league debut against Washington on April 2.
• Allowed six hits, four runs and five walks through 4.2 innings pitched.
• Was the third player from the Braves’ 2020 First-Year Player Draft to debut with the club.
• Joined Spencer Strider and Bryce Elder as the other hurlers from the ‘20 draft class to play for Atlanta.
• Became the eighth Braves pitcher to debut with a start against the Nationals/ Expos.
• Pitched to a 1.74 ERA in six appearances, four starts, with 19 strikeouts through 20.2 innings pitched in Spring Training.
• Began the Spring without allowing a run in his first four outings (12.2 IP).
2022 Recap
• Entered 2023 as Atlanta’s top overall prospect per MLB.com, and as the No. 3 farmhand by Baseball America.
• Split his second professional season between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett, combining to go 7-10 with a 3.29 ERA (51 ER/139.1 IP) between the two stops…Allowed 108 hits and 38 walks while fanning 145.
• Opened the season with Mississippi and pitched to a 6-7 record and a 2.78 ERA (28 ER/90.2 IP) in 17 total games and 16 starts, compiling a 0.96 WHIP and 10.5 strikeouts per 9.0 innings.
• Advanced to Gwinnett on July 26 and made his final 10 appearances with the Stripers, including nine starts…Went 1-3 with a 4.25 ERA (23 ER/48.2 IP) and 39 strikeouts.
• Pitched in the Sirius XM All-Star Futures Game for the National League, and allowed two hits and one run over 1.1 innings…Fanned a pair.
• Was named a Southern League Post-Season All-Star for his season with Mississippi, and earned SL Pitcher of the Week honors on July 17.
• Pitched 7.0 scoreless innings in his only start that week, fanning a season high-tying 12 batters in a win over Rocket City.
• Garnered MiLB.com Organizational All-Star honors for the second consecutive season.
• Allowed no more than two runs in 21 of his 27 appearances on the season.
Career Recap
• Drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the first round (25th overall) of the 2020 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
• In three seasons with Wake Forest, went 6-8 with a 6.17 ERA (88 ER/128.1 IP) in 41 appearances, 22 starts.
• Logged 169 career strikeouts against just 62 walks in 128.1 innings.
• His 12.4 strikeouts per 9.0 innings during his sophomore campaign rank as third most in program history.
• He missed the entire 2019 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery that February
