ATLANTA BRAVES NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Braves and Padres tonight open a three-game series with the fifth of seven games between the clubs this season…The two played just eight days ago at Truist Park in Atlanta.
• San Diego won three-of-four games between the two clubs last week, outscoring Atlanta, 25-14… The Padres are responsible for three of the four losses Atlanta has this season…Against all other opponents, the Braves are 11-1.
• Atlanta went 3-4 against San Diego last season, snapping a streak of five consecutive years in which the Braves won the season set…Atlanta needs a sweep this week to win the season series.
• Atlanta is 8-2 in its last 10 games as the visiting team here at Petco Park, dating to the 2019 season…The Braves swept the Padres here in 2019 and 2021, and split four games last season.
• LH Max Fried has never lost to the Padres, going 2-0 with a 2.05 ERA (5 ER/22.0 IP) in three starts, including a three-hit shutout here at Petco Park in 2021…The 6-foot-4, 190-pound California native was originally drafted by the Padres in the first round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft, before Atlanta acquired him via trade in 2014.
• LH Ryan Weathers has never started against Atlanta, but pitched 2.0 innings in relief versus the Braves last season…He allowed one unearned run and fanned three…The 6-foot-1, 230-pound lefty has made a pair of starts for the Padres this season, compiling a 1-0 record with a 2.70 ERA (3 ER/10.0 IP).
WIN: Atlanta beat Kansas City, 5-4, yesterday to complete a three-game sweep of the Royals…The Braves outscored the Royals, 24-10, over the three games.
• The win moved the Braves to 12-4 (.750) on the season, the club’s best mark through 16 games since the 2013 club started 13-3…Just five Atlanta teams have opened with a better record through 16 games since the team moved to the city in 1966; the 1982, 1983, 1994, 1997 and 2013 clubs all opened 13-3 through 16 games.
• Atlanta improved to 8-1 (.889) on the road this season, and has outscored opponents, 56-24, away from Truist Park…The Braves’ .889 winning
percentage on the road is best in baseball… Cleveland ranks second with a .700 mark (7-3).
• Yesterday’s win for Atlanta was the club’s 100th on the road since the start of 2021, and they are one of just two teams in baseball to win 100 such games in that span…Only the Dodgers, at 105-64 (.621), have been better on the road over the last three years than the Braves.
• Atlanta also improved to 5-1 in one-run games following yesterday’s victory, and the Braves’ five one-run wins are tied with Cleveland for most in the majors.
ROSTER MOVES: The Braves today reinstated LHP Max Fried from the injured list, and placed LHP Lucas Luetge on the 15-day injured list with left bicep inflammation, backdated to April 14.
• Fried started Opening Day for Atlanta, and pitched 3.1 one-run innings before exiting with a left hamstring strain.
• Fried’s 52 wins over the past four seasons are most in the National League, and most by any left-hander in baseball…Only one pitcher, the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole, has more wins than Fried since the start of 2019…Cole has 60 wins.
• Additionally, the Braves have 71 wins in games started by Fried since the beginning of 2019, the most such wins by a pitcher in the National
League… Only Cole again, whose teams have won 75 of his starts, has more in the majors.
MURPHY EXTRA BASES: Each of Sean Murphy’s last 10 hits have gone for extra bases, dating to a fourth-inning double on April 6…He has seven doubles and three homers during the streak.
• The streak matches the longest run of consecutive extra-base hits in Atlanta history (since 1966), tying the mark set by Gary Matthews, Sr. in 1979… Matthews had 10 in a row from June 17-23.
• Only one player in Braves franchise history (since 1900) has a longer such streak…Wally Berger of the Boston Braves had 12 consecutive extra-base hits in August of 1935.
• The last player in baseball with at least 10 consecutive extra-base hits was Houston’s Alex Bregman, who had 11 straight in August of last season.
• The last catcher with such a streak was Detroit’s Dustin Garneau in 2021, who tallied 11 straight from August 22 to October 3.
• Research courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau.
WINS ABOVE REPLACEMENT: Seven position players have compiled at least 1.0 fWAR through the season’s first three weeks, and Atlanta is the only club with two players to do so…INF Matt Olson has compiled exactly 1.0 fWAR, while OF Ronald Acuña Jr. leads all position players in baseball with 1.2 fWAR.
• Acuña Jr. is batting .373/.455/.567 with three homers and 16 runs and 11 RBI on the season… He is the only player in baseball with at least 25 hits, 15 runs and 10 RBI.
• Olson is batting .313/.413/.656 on the season, with five homers and 17 RBI…He leads the National League with 17 RBI, 11 extra-base hits and 42 total bases.
SCORE FIRST: Atlanta jumped out to a 3-0 lead in yesterday’s third inning, and the Braves are 11-0 when scoring first this season.
• Atlanta’s 11 wins when scoring first are second most in the majors, trailing just Tampa Bay’s 12 such wins.
Streak
Atlanta beat Kansas City, 5-4, yesterday afternoon, and the Braves have won each of their last six games. It is the longest active winning streak in baseball. The Braves’ run is tied for the second-longest winning streak in baseball this season, matching a six-game streak for the Brewers from April 1 to April 7. The longest winning streak of the season belongs to Tampa Bay, who opened the year 13-0. Atlanta had three longer streaks all of last season, winning eight straight games twice and an MLB best-tying 14 consecutive games in June.
Tonight’s Starting Pitcher – #54 Max Fried LHP
Today’s Game
• Set to make his second start of the season and fourth against San Diego.
• Fried was activated from the 15-day injured today…Lucas Luetge was placed on the 15-day IL with left bicep inflammation.
• Landed on the injured list with a strained left hamstring on April 30.
• Made his third career Opening Day start after he also started the opener in each of the last two seasons.
• Fried was the first Braves lefty to make consecutive Opening Day starts since Hall-of-Famer Warren Spahn started six straight, 1957-1962.
• Prior to Fried, the last Braves lefty to start Opening Day was Tom Glavine in 2002.
• Fried was one of just five pitchers in baseball to start on Opening Day in each of the last three seasons…Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola has made a majors-most six straight Opening Day starts, while Miami’s Sandy Alcantara, Cleveland’s Shane Bieber and the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole are each set for their fourth consecutive start in their openers.
• His 52 wins over the past four seasons are most in the National League, and most by any left-hander in baseball.
• Only one pitcher, the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole, has more wins than Fried since the start of 2019…Cole has 56 wins.
• Additionally, the Braves have 70 wins in games started by Fried since the beginning of 2019, the most such wins by a pitcher in the National League… Only Cole again, whose teams have won 71 of his starts, has more in the majors.
SAN DIEGO PADRES NOTES:
Darvish goes 7.0 strong innings with 1 run allowed, but Friars are unable to capitalize on 6 ABs with RISP, fall 1-0 to Brew Crew
• Yu Darvish allowed just 4 hits on 1 run (earned) with 12 punchouts and 2 walks allowed…in the 2nd inning, Darvish lost track of his number of disengagements and was cited for a balk in advancing Garrett Mitchell to 2B…Mitchell then stole 3B and scored the eventual game-winning run by scoring on a sac fly.
• Said Bob Melvin, “There was a little bit of an issue of how we handled that one…Sometimes with PitchCom, you hit a button and it gives a different pitch. This time, it was from a pitch out to a throw over.’’
Padres honor San Diegan Johnny Ritchey; to wear 6 different uniforms in 6 days
• Tonight the Padres will wear their 1948 replica jerseys from the Pacific Coast League Padres to honor San Diegan Johnny Ritchey breaking the color barrier 75 years ago with the PCL Padres…the Padres and Ritchey came to an agreement in mid-November 1947 (after Jackie debuted the previous Spring), making him the first Black player to sign a PCL contract…if you count the Padres’ road pinstripes on Wednesday @ NYM, it’ll be 6 uniforms in 6 days.
Batting with runners in scoring position
• In a week’s time since April 10, the Padres have hit .154 with RISP, the 2nd worst mark in baseball in that span ahead of just the Pirates’ .146 clip.
• SD’s 28 hits and .200 AVG this year with RISP are both the fewest hits and lowest clip in the NL. Today is Game 12 in a stretch of playing 18 games in 18 days; 21 games in 22 days
• San Diego had their 1st off day on April 5 in Atlanta and won’t enjoy their 2nd until April 24, playing 18 games in 18 days from April 6-23 and 21 games in 22 days from April 6-27…their 3rd off day will be on April 28 (in Mexico City)…their 1st off day in San Diego won’t be until May 4.
Since the Padres’ series in Atlanta…
• Since taking the series and 3 straight games in Atlanta from April 7-9, the Padres went 1-2 in New York against the Mets and 1-3 against the Brewers at Petco Park in San Diego for a 2-5 overall record.
• San Diego has been out-scored 31-21 by their opposition, scoring 3.1 runs per game in that time…their 21 runs scored since April 10 are the 3rd fewest in the big leagues, ahead of the Angels (20 runs) and D-Backs (19 runs).
• The Braves are 8-2 (.800) at Petco Park since 2019, which is the highest winning percentage of any NL team in that time…over that span, all NL visitors are 115-127 (.475) at Petco Park.
STARTING PITCHER – RYAN WEATHERS #40
Weathers gets the ball for 3rd start of the season
23-year-old Ryan Weathers takes the mound for his 3rd start of the season, his 2nd start at Petco Park and his 1st career start vs. the Braves…faced the Braves as a reliever on Sept. 25, 2021, his penultimate appearance of the 2021 campaign, and tossed 2.0 innings of 2-hit ball, allowing 1 unearned run in SD’s 10-8 defeat.
Vs. Braves hitters
5 Braves hitters have 1 AB vs. Weathers, with Austin Riley and Eddie Rosario both 1-for-1 against the left-hander, while Ozzie Albies, Huascar Ynoa and Travis d’Arnaud have gone 0-for-1.
Weathers goes 5.0 innings and allows 1 earned run vs. Mets
In his most outing, last Tuesday vs. the Mets at Citi Field, Weathers earned his 5th career big league win, allowing 1 ER on 3 hits in SD’s 4-2 victory…it marked the 2nd time he’s gone 5.0+ IP while allowing 1 ER-of-fewer, with the other time coming on April 22, 2021 @ LAD… Ryan’s family, including his father, David Weathers, were in attendance, and following the start Ryan said: “When they’re here, it kind of eases the nerves a little bit.”
Pickoffs becoming a weapon
Weathers picked off Pete Alonso at first base in the 4th inning last Tuesday at Citi Field, his 10th pickoff in 108.1 big league innings…his 9 pickoffs in 2021 led the Majors, 2 ahead of tonight’s Braves starter, Max Fried’s 7.
Weathers solid in season debut
After making just 1 start/appearance for SD’s big league club in 2022, Weathers cracked the Padres Opening Day roster for the 2nd time in his career this season (also: 2021) and tossed 5.0 innings of 5-hit, 2-run ball last Monday, April 3 vs. ARI in SD’s 5-4 walk-off victory.
