SAN DIEGO PADRES NOTES:
Padres even record to 4-4 as Honeywell gets his 1st ML win and Padres edge Braves 7-6
• Nick Martinez got the start and worked 4.2 innings last night with 4 runs allowed (all earned) on 4 hits with 5 walks…he struck out 4 and allowed a homer.
• Nelson Cruz had his 1st 3-hit effort as a Padre, going 3-for-5 with 2 RBI and a double.
• In the T-6th, Xander Bogaerts hit a check-swing, RBI single to right field, plating Trent Grisham for the go-ahead (and eventual game-winning) run.
Brent Honeywell’s 1st Major League win comes against his hometown team
• Brent Honeywell, who was born and raised a Braves fan in Augusta, GA and attended Franklin County High School in Royston, tossed a career-high-tying 2.0 innings and got his 1st MLB win last night…said Honeywell, “It’s a pretty surreal moment tonight…It takes a lot. Especially when you don’t play for so long, it’s like you kind of just feel like you’re stuck in a wheel. A lot of my friends here never really let me get stuck in that wheel. Family, friends — a lot of people here know what I’m capable of. I was just happy to do it in front of them.”
Soto’s 1.123 OPS vs. Braves is the highest of any player, all-time
• Among players with at least 250 PA, Juan Soto’s 1.123 OPS against the Braves is the highest of any hitter in Major League history…he’s hit .324 with a .493 OBP and .630 SLG against ATL in 69 games against them in his career.
1-run games against Atlanta
• Since 2021, 8 of the 15 games the Padres and Braves have played against each other have been decided by 1 run…including last night’s 8-7 win, the Padres have been on the winning side of 4 of those games, and the Braves also have 4 1-run wins against San Diego in that time.
1st roadtrip of the year
• The Padres are amidst a 8-day, 7-game roadtrip to Atlanta and Mets…they went 4-3 against the Braves last year (2-1 @ Truist Park from May 13-15, 2022).
PADRES ’23 RECORDS
• After this 4-game set in Atlanta, the Padres will host the Braves when they return from the 7-game roadtrip (will host them for a 3-game series in San Diego after the Padres play a 4-game set against the Brewers).
TOG
• The Padres and Braves game last night was 3:01, but so far this year, all MLB teams have averaged a 2:37 game time…in 2022, the average game time was 3:04, their 2nd longest game so far in 2023 behind their 1st game against the Braves (3:14)…in their 6 home games so far this year, the Padres have averaged a 2:35 gametime, with their shortest being 2:03 on April 2 vs. COL.
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.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – MICHAEL WACHA
Wacha earns win in Padres debut
31-year-old Michael Wacha is set to start Game 3 again, after starting Game 3 of the Opening Series vs. COL in his Padre debut…Wacha earned the win in his first start in Padres brown and gold last Saturday vs. the Rockies…he was scoreless through the first 4 frames before surrendering a combined 4 earned runs in the 5th and 6th as SD went on to win the contest 8-4…it was Wacha’s first matchup vs. an NL West opponent since the 2019 campaign, and he is now 10-9 with a 4.01 ERA (86 ER, 193.0 IP) in his 37 career app. (36 starts) vs. the division. Wacha in search of first career win vs. ATL Wacha faces off vs. the Braves today for the first time since July 16, 2021 as a member of the
Tampa Bay Rays and is in search of his first career winning decision vs. ATL…he has made 8 appearances (6 starts), going a combined 0-4 with a 5.23 ERA (19 ER, 32.2 IP).
Wacha vs. the Braves bats
Orlando Arcia’s 10 at-bats are the most among all current Braves hitters entering today against Wacha, and he owns a .400 AVG against the right-hander…Ozzie Albies is just 1-for7 (.143) vs. Wacha while Austin Riley is 2-for-4 with 2 home runs.
Welcome to the Pads
Enters his 12th professional season and his 11th big league season in ’23…he owns a career 74-50 record and a 4.05 ERA (519 ER, 1153.2 IP) in 225 ML appearances (204 starts) across 10 seasons for STL (2013-19), NYM (2020), TB (2021) and BOS (2022).
Wacha aims to replicate the fast start in ’22
In ’22, he had a 2.61 ERA through 20 starts before allowing 14 runs over 13.1 IP in his final 3 outings…he allowed 2 runs-or-fewer and 4 hits-or-fewer in each of his first 6 starts.
Barkeep…order me another 10-plus win season
The 2022 season was Michael’s 3rd season with 10-or-more wins (17 wins in 2015 and 12 in 2017), and it was his 6th season making 20-or-more starts (and the 3rd time in the last three 162-game seasons).
When it matters most
Has made 8 career Postseason appearances (6 starts) between STL (2013-15) and TB (2021)…owns the MLB Postseason rookie records for longest scoreless-innings streak (18.2 IP in 2013) and most strikeouts in a single Postseason (33 in 2013).
A Wacha in the (Petco) Park
Wacha has made a total of 6 starts at Petco Park, and turned in 5 quality starts, going a combined 4-1 with a 3.16 ERA (13 ER, 37.0 IP)…he earned the winning decision in each of his first 3 starts at Petco from 2015-17, and his Padre debut on April 1 was his first-non QS
at Petco.
Wacha approaching the 10.000 ML service time plateau
Wacha entered the 2023 campaign with 9.062 years of ML service time, which ranked 5th on SD’s Opening Day roster, behind only Nelson Cruz (15.000), Yu Darvish (11.000), Matt Carpenter (10.145) and Manny Machado (10.056).
ATLANTA BRAVES NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Braves and Padres tonight continue a four-game weekend set with the third 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.
• San Diego beat Atlanta, 5-4, last night to even the series at one game apiece.
• 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 12-8 against the Padres here at Truist Park, although they have lost six of the last nine 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.
• RH Charlie Morton has made 11 career starts against San Diego and compiled a 6-2 record with a 2.55 ERA (19 ER/67.0 IP)…He last faced them on May 14 of last season here at Truist Park, and allowed two hits and one run over 6.0 innings in a no-decision…The 6-foot-5, 235-pound righty made his season debut on April 3 at St. Louis and earned the win, allowing three runs over 5.1 innings in the Braves victory, 8-4.
• RH Michael Wacha has never beaten the Braves in eight career appearances against them, including six starts, combining to go 0-4 with a 5.23 ERA (19 ER/32.2 IP)…The Iowa City native last faced Atlanta in 2021 while with Tampa Bay, and allowed five hits and four runs over 4.0 innings in a no-decision…In his Padres debut April 1, he earned the win after allowing six hits and four runs over 6.0 innings.
LOSS: Atlanta fell to San Diego, 5-4, last night for the Braves’ second loss of the season…At 6-2, Atlanta has the second-best record in the National League, trailing just the Brewers (6-1).
• Last night was just the second game this season in which the Braves did not hold a lead, with the only other game being their 4-1 loss to Washington on April 2.
• Atlanta is one of seven teams in baseball this season to win every game in which it has led, and its six such wins are tied with Milwaukee for most in the N.L.
• The Braves also lost for the first time when they hit a homer last night, as Marcell Ozuna drove a solo shot in yesterday’s third inning…Atlanta is now 5-1 when homering on the season.
• The Braves went 91-35 (.722) when they hit at least one home run last season, the most such victories in the major leagues.
ROSTER MOVES: The Braves today selected LHP Danny Young to the major league roster after optioning LHP Jared Shuster to Triple-A Gwinnett following last night’s game…To make room on the 40-man roster, Atlanta designated RHP Seth Elledge for assignment.
• Young will wear No. 65 for Atlanta.
• Young appeared in two games with Triple-A Gwinnett this season, allowing one hit and one run in 2.0 innings.
• He made his major league debut last season, splitting the season between Seattle and Atlanta… He combined to appear in three games, posting a 4.26 ERA (3 ER/6.1 IP) without a decision.
TWO & THREE: No. 2 hitter Matt Olson and No. 3 batter Austin Riley combined to reach base in eight of their 10 plate appearances last night, and are batting a combined .333/.446/.667 on the season.
• Olson has hit second and Riley has batted third in every game for Atlanta this season.
• Atlanta leads the majors in runs (16), RBI (16), home runs (5, tied) and walks (13, tied) from these two spots in the batting order, and their 1.113 combined OPS ranks fourth.
• Riley reached base a career high-tying five times last night, going 3-for-3 with two walks…His four such games since the start of the 2021 season are second most by a third baseman in baseball, trailing just his counterpart tonight, SD’s Manny Machado.
TWO STRIKES: Atlanta logged four hits and drew four walks with two strikes last night, and is batting .225/.294/.350 when down to its last strike this season… The Braves’ .644 OPS with two strikeouts is tops in baseball, 21 points better than any other club (Boston, .623).
• For reference, the major league average is .170/.248/.266 with two strikes.
• The Braves’ 36 two-strike hits this year lead the National League…The Toronto Blue Jays are the only team with more in the majors (37).
• The club’s 23 runs and 22 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.
MULTIPLE RUNS: The Braves’ plated three runs in last night’s third inning, and have 12 multi-run innings this season…That total is tied for fifth most in the majors, and only San Francisco (13) has more in the N.L.
• Atlanta has just 12 single-run frames this season, including last night’s fifth inning.
• The Braves’ three-run third last night was their fifth inning of three-or-more runs this season…Only Baltimore, Milwaukee and Tampa Bay, all with six, have more.
• Atlanta ranks third in the majors with 43 total runs this season.
Tonight’s Starting Pitcher – #50 Charlie Morton
Today’s Game
• Set to make his second start of the season and 12th career appearance against San Diego.
• His 2.55 career ERA is the lowest against any single opponent (min. 10 appearances).
• Has held San Diego hitters to a .189 batting average through his 11 outings, also the lowest against a single team with at least 10 appearances against.
• Needs two strikeouts to reach 1,700 on his career.
• Will become the 15th active pitcher to record as many punchouts…Max Scherzer leads the active hurlers with 3,201.
• Made his first start of the season against St. Louis last week.
• Allowed three runs and nine hits through 5.1 innings pitched while earning his first win of the season.
• Only struck out one hitter through 5.1 innings pitched against the Cardinals, marking just the ninth time in his career Morton pitched at least 5.0 frames while failing to record at least two punchouts and the first since June 5, 2015 against Pittsburgh.
• Entering his age 39 season, Morton is tied for the fifth-oldest active pitcher in the majors.
• Since the beginning of the 2021 season, Morton has thrown his curveball on 37.3% of pitches, the second highest rate in baseball among qualified starters.
• During that span he has gotten hitters to swing and miss on 52.6% of curveballs thrown, the third highest rate in the majors…The MLB average is 13.1%.
• Trails only Chicago’s Drew Smyly’s 42.4%.
2022 Recap
• Made 31 starts during his 15th major league season and went 9-6 with a 4.34 ERA (83 ER/172.0 IP) and 205 strikeouts…Compiled 1.6 bWAR on the year.
• His 205 strikeouts on the season were tied for ninth most in the majors…Since June 1, his 159 strikeouts were fifth most in baseball.
• Morton’s 205 strikeouts last season were fifth most in the National League, and he is one of just three pitchers in Atlanta franchise history to log at least 200 strikeouts in multiple seasons…He struck out 216 last year…Hall-of-Famers John Smoltz (five seasons) and Phil Niekro (three seasons) were the only others to do so
• Since the start of the 2018 season, Morton’s 904 strikeouts are fifth most in the majors…Only Gerrit Cole (1,207), Max Scherzer (1,050), Aaron Nola (1,011) and Robbie Ray (931) have more.
• Started on August 21 vs. Houston, and allowed five hits and two runs over 6.0 innings…Walked two and struck out 11…Took a no-decision after the Astros rallied for a 5-4 win.
• Fanned 12 in his previous outing, and had double-digit strikeouts in back-to-back games for the fourth time in his career…He last did so in 2019, and has never fanned 10+ in three straight games.
• Had 45 total strikeouts in June, most in the National League and tied for tops in the majors…The White Sox’ Dylan Cease also had 45.
• Morton had never previously struck out 45+ batters in five or fewer starts in a single month…His previous high was 40 strikeouts, done over five starts in May of 2018.
• Furthermore, since the mound-to-plate distance was first set at 60’6” in 1893, Morton is the only Braves pitcher to fan at least 45 batters in five or fewer starts in a single month.
• Research courtesy the Elias Sports Bureau.
• With his start on May 25, became the 10th active pitcher in the majors to make 300 career starts.
• Over his first 150 career starts, from his debut through August 20, 2015, Morton compiled a 44-65 record and a 4.46 ERA…In his next 150 starts, he went 66-33 with a 3.61 ERA.
• Struck out Wil Myers in the third inning of his start, April 14 at San Diego, for the 1,500th strikeout of his career.
• Became the 18th active pitcher to reach 1,500 career strikeouts, with Max Scherzer’s 3,043 strikeouts pacing active players.
Career Recap
• A 15-year major league veteran, has compiled a 116-101 record and a 4.03 ERA (805 ER/1797.0 IP) across 323 games, 322 starts…Has fanned 1,697 and pitched a pair of shutouts.
• Has pitched for Atlanta (2008, ‘21-22), Pittsburgh (2009-15), Philadelphia (2016), Houston (2017-18) and Tampa Bay (2019-20).
• Is a two-time All-Star (2018 & 2019) and won the 2017 World Series while with Houston and 2021 World Series with Atlanta.
