HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
No release available.
ATLANTA BRAVES NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Braves and Astros tonight open a three-game interleague series in what is scheduled to be the only meetings between the two clubs this season.
• Atlanta and Houston are meeting in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2011 & 2012, the Astros’ final two years in the National League… Atlanta took two-of-three games from Houston here at Truist Park last year.
• The two clubs have met 10 times in interleague play, with Atlanta going 4-6 in those games.
• This series matches up the previous two World Series winners, with Atlanta taking the 2021 title over Houston before the Astros rebounded to win a year later over the Phillies…Both series were decided in six games.
• Atlanta manager Brian Snitker skippers against his son this weekend, as Troy Snitker serves as a hitting coach for the Astros.
• RH Bryce Elder has never faced the Astros, nor has he pitched against a member of Houston’s current lineup…The 6-foot-2, 225-pound native
of Denton, TX, has made three starts for Atlanta this season posting a 2-0 record with a 1.53 ERA (3 ER/17.2 IP)…Atlanta has won all three games in which he has started.
• RH Hunter Brown has also never faced Atlanta, nor has he pitched against a member of the Braves current roster…The 6-foot-2, 212-pound righthander has made three starts for Houston this season, going 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA (4 ER/18.2 IP), and has a perfect 4-0 record with a 1.38 ERA (6 ER/39.0 IP) in 10 career major league games… He entered 2023 as Houston’s top overall prospect, and as the No. 43 prospect in baseball per MLB. com.
LOSS: Atlanta lost to San Diego, 1-0, on Wednesday afternoon…Four of Atlanta’s five losses this season have come against the Padres…The Braves are 11-1 against every other team.
• The loss was Atlanta’s first shutout of the season.
• The loss also snapped the Braves’ eight-game winning streak, which stands as the second-longest winning streak in baseball this season…It trails just a 13-game stretch by Tampa Bay, after the Rays won each of their first 13 games of the season.
• Atlanta had just one longer winning streak all of last season, winning an MLB best-tying 14 consecutive games in June.
• The Braves batted .277/.359/.511 during the run, and averaged 6.4 runs per game…Atlanta had 15 homers in that span, and homered in all eight games.
• Atlanta pitchers compiled a 2.84 ERA (23 ER/73.0 IP) during the streak, allowing opponents to bat just .224 (61-for-272) and fanning 10.2 batters per 9.0 innings.
INTERLEAGUE: The Braves are set to play their second interleague series of the season this weekend, after sweeping three games from Kansas City, April 14-16.
• Major League Baseball introduced a balanced schedule for the first time in 2023, meaning all 30 teams will play each other this year.
• The Braves went 13-7 (.650) against the A.L. last season, tied for the third-best interleague record in the majors…Only the Brewers and Dodgers, both at 15-5 (.750), were better.
• Atlanta opened the season 1-3 against the A.L. last year, before going 12-4 over its final 16 games against the opposing league, including five series wins.
BASES LOADED: Atlanta had the bases loaded with one out in the third inning on Wednesday afternoon, and failed to produce a run…Matt Olson popped out on an infield fly, before Austin Riley struck out on a foul tip.
• In 22 at-bats with the bases loaded this season, Atlanta is batting .136/.296/.136 with 10 strikeouts and just 13 runs scored.
• The Braves have just three hits with the bases loaded this year, all of which are singles, and five walks… Atlanta’s .136 average in such situations is fourth lowest in the majors.
• Matt Olson, Austin Riley and Sean Murphy, Atlanta’s No. 2-4 batters in tonight’s lineup, are a combined 0-for-10 with five walks with men on every base.
FOUR OR MORE: Atlanta has played to a 13-1 (.929) record when scoring at least four runs this season, the most such wins in the National League…Only Tampa Bay, who has 15 wins when scoring at least four runs, has more.
• Conversely, the Braves are just 1-4 when scoring three runs or fewer.
• Atlanta has combined for just eight total runs in its four losses this season…In wins, the Braves are averaging 6.4 runs per game.
OLSON RUNS BATTED IN: 1B Matt Olson has a National League-most 20 RBI on the season, and is just one short of Yordan Alvarez’s majors-high total…Alvarez, who plays against Olson with the Astros tonight, has 21 RBI on the year.
• Olson has his 20 RBI in just 19 games, and is on pace for 31 RBI before the calendar flips to May… Since the Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966, no player has tallied 30-or-more RBI before the start of May.
• Dale Murphy and Chipper Jones have the most RBI for an Atlanta player in March/April, collecting 29 runs batted in during the 1985 and 1998 seasons, respectively.
• No player in baseball has reached 30 RBI before May since the 2019 season, when Cody Bellinger (37), Christian Yelich (34) and Domingo Santana (30) all reached the mark.
Tonight’s Starting Pitcher – #55 Bryce Elder RHP
Tonight’s Game
• Set to make his 13th career start, 14th appearance and first outing against Houston.
• Enters play with eight consecutive outings of least 5.0 innings pitched.
• Is 3-1 with a 1.61 ERA over his last eight starts after being recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett, dating to August 14, 2022.
• His 1.61 ERA is the third lowest in the National League among pitchers with at least five starts during that span.
• In that stretch, Elder is averaging 6.1 innings pitched per outing, tied for the fourth highest rate in the majors.
• Allowed three runs while scattering eight hits and earning the win against Kansas City in his last turn.
• Through 12 career starts, Elder has pitched 69.1 innings.
• The 69.1 innings pitched are the most by an Atlanta rookie through their first 12 starts since Michael Soroka in 2018-19.
2023 Recap
• Scattered six hits while fanning seven hitters and issuing just one walk through 6.1 scoreless innings against Cincinnati on April 10.
• The outing against the Reds marked the sixth time through 11 career starts that Elder held an opponent to one run or less while pitching at least 5.0 innings… Tied for the second most such games in Braves franchise history through a players first 12 games, trailing only Michael Soroka with eight.
