ATLANTA BRAVES NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Braves and Cardinals tonight continue a three-game set with the second of six scheduled meetings between the two teams this season…The teams will next meet from September 5-7 at Truist Park in Atlanta.
• Atlanta beat St. Louis, 8-4, last night to take the series opener…The Braves went 4-3 against St. Louis last season, winning three-of-four games at Truist Park and dropping two-of-three here at Busch Stadium.
• Atlanta has won four consecutive season series against the Cardinals dating to 2018…The Braves went 4-3 last season, 6-1 against the Cardinals in 2021, 4-2 in 2019 and 4-2 in 2018.
• After last night’s win, Atlanta has won six of eight and 11 of their last 14 regular-season games in St. Louis…Prior to last year, they had not lost a series here since 2017, dropping two-of-three.
• Overall, Atlanta has won 12 of their last 16 games and 15 of 20 vs. St. Louis…Over that 20-game stretch that dates to May 15, 2019, Atlanta has compiled a 2.45 ERA (48 ER/176.1 IP) against the Cardinals.
• LH Dylan Dodd is set to make his major league with tonight’s start after Atlanta purchased his contract yesterday…Ranked by MLB.com as
Atlanta’s No. 10 overall prospect, he has compiled a 12-11 record and a 3.87 ERA (67 ER/156.0 IP) over 30 career starts in the minors…Originally selected by Atlanta in the third round of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft, Dodd attended Southeast Missouri State University which is located just 115 miles from Busch Stadium.
• LH Steven Matz has made 15 career starts versus Atlanta, all of them while with the Mets, and is 6-3 with a 3.42 ERA (30 ER/79.0 IP) and 72
strikeouts against the Braves…The 6-foot-2, 200- pound left-hander appeared in 15 games and made 10 starts for St. Louis in his debut season with the club last year, pitching to a 5-3 record and a 5.25 ERA (28 ER/48.0 IP).
VS. THE CENTRAL: Atlanta moved to 1-0 against the NL Central this season with last night’s win…The Braves finished 21-12 (.636) against the Central last season after they went 22-12 (.647) against the division in 2021.
• That 22-12 record last season was the best by any National League team against the Central.
• Since 2018, when the Braves started a string of five consecutive division titles, Atlanta is 82-51 (.617) against the NL Central, the best record of any NL team…In all of the majors, only Oakland at 10-6 (.625) has been better over this span.
• The Braves have knocked out a Central opponent in two of the last three postseasons…They beat Milwaukee in four games during the NLDS in
2021 after sweeping Cincinnati in the Wild Card Round in 2020.
DEBUT VS. ST. LOUIS: Dodd is set to be the 10th Braves pitcher since 1900 to debut with a start against the Cardinals, but the first to do so in nearly 30 years… Brad Woodall was the last to start against St. Louis in his debut, doing so on July 22, 1994 in the second game of a doubleheader.
• Braves starters have combined to pitch to a 1-4 record with a 3.81 ERA (24 ER/56.2 IP) in these outings, while the franchise is just 2-6-1 in the nine games.
• Tom Tuckey is the only Braves pitcher in the modern era to beat the Cardinals in his debut, pitching a seven-hit shutout for the Boston Doves on August 11, 1908.
• Red Long was the first Braves pitcher in the modern era to debut against St. Louis, pitching 8.0 innings and allowing just four hits and two runs, one earned, in a 2-2 tie for the Boston Beaneaters…It was the only appearance of his major league career.
RUNS: Atlanta scored eight times last night, and has plated 23 total runs in four games this season…The Braves are averaging 5.75 runs per game.
• Boston and Los Angeles-NL have each scored 33 runs this season to pace the majors.
• Atlanta scored seven runs in each of its first two games this season before plating eight last night… This season marks just the fourth time in major league baseball’s live-ball era (since 1920), and the first time since the club moved to Atlanta in 1966, that the franchise has scored seven-or-more runs in three of its first four games.
• The 1930 Boston Braves were the first club to score at least seven runs in three of its four four games, and the 1955 Milwaukee Braves are the most recent team to do so prior to this year.
• The 1931 Boston Braves are the only club in franchise history to score at least seven runs in each of their first four games, scoring eight, seven, nine and eight runs to open the season 4-0.
• Atlanta and Boston are the only two teams this season with at least seven runs in three of their first four games.
EXTRA-BASE HITS: Six of Atlanta’s 10 hits last night went for extra bases, with Orlando Arcia, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Travis d’Arnaud collecting doubles, and Acuña Jr, Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley all homering.
• Since the start of the 2020 season, the Braves’ 1,329 extra-base hits are easily most in the majors, and just three times have more than 1,300 in that span…The Dodgers rank second with 1,316, while Boston is one behind with 1,315.
• Conversely, 11 of St. Louis’ 12 hits last night were singles, with only Paul Goldschmidt’s seventh-inning homer going for extra bases.
• Braves pitchers have surrendered just five extra-base hits through four games, tied for fewest in baseball.
Tonight’s Starting Pitcher – #46 Dylan Dodd
Today’s Game
• Set to make his major league debut after Atlanta purchased his contract yesterday.
• Ranked by MLB.com as Atlanta’s No. 10 overall prospect, he has compiled a 12-11 record and a 3.87 ERA (67 ER/156.0 IP) over 30 career starts in the minors.
• Originally selected by Atlanta in the third round of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft, Dodd attended Southeast Missouri State University which is located just 115 miles from Busch Stadium.
• Played his first full professional season last year, and split the year between High-A Rome, Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett.
• Pitched to a 12-9 record and a 3.36 ERA over 26 starts, fanning 153 in 142.0 innings.
• Dodd is set to be the 10th Braves pitcher since 1900 to debut with a start against the Cardinals, but the first to do so in nearly 30 years…Brad Woodall was the last to start against St. Louis in his debut, doing so on July 22, 1994 in the second game of a doubleheader.
• Braves starters have combined to pitch to a 1-4 record with a 3.81 ERA (24 ER/56.2 IP) in these outings, while the franchise is just 2-6-1 in the nine games.
• Tom Tuckey is the only pitcher in franchise history to beat the Cardinals in his debut, pitching a seven-hit shutout for the Boston Doves on August 11, 1908.
• Makes his major league debut tonight, while LH Jared Shuster made the first appearance of his own major league career in the start on Sunday afternoon.
• The Braves franchise dates to 1876, and the club has never had two starting pitchers debut within the first five games of a season.
2023 Spring
• Pitched in five games and made three starts this spring, going 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA (4 ER/18.0 IP)…Walked just four and fanned 20.
2022 Recap
• In his second professional season went 12-9 with a combined 3.36 ERA in 26 starts between three levels of the Braves farm system.
• Went 9-5 with a 3.44 ERA (34 ER/89.0) in 16 starts with High-A Rome… Was named the South Atlantic Pitcher of the Week (5/20) after tossing a combined 13.0 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts between two starts.
• Pitched to a 3.11 ERA (16 ER/ 46.1 IP) with 55 strikeouts in nine starts with Double-A Mississippi.
• Made one start with Triple-A Gwinnett on 9/25…Allowed three runs in 6.2 innings pitched in his Stripers debut.
Career Recap
• Was named the Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2021 after leading the conference with eight wins, 102 strikeouts, 84.0 innings pitched and a 2.36 ERA during his senior season with Southeast Missouri State University
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:
RECENT REDBIRDS: The defending NL Central Division Champion St. Louis Cardinals and visiting Atlanta Braves play the second game of a three-game series tonight at Busch Stadium as the Redbirds continue their homestand versus both teams of the 1992 World Series … St. Louis opened its season by taking two of three from the Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend.
AGE IS JUST A NUMBER: Oliver Marmol is closing in on his 100th career win as Cardinals manager, going 95-71 over his first 166 games … Marmol needs five wins before July 2 to become the 11th MLB manager in the Expansion Era (1961-present) and 93rd overall in MLB history to win his 100th game before his 37th birthday … Marmol is poised to become the 52nd manager all-time to reach 100 wins with a winning record before age 37 and the first since Sparky Anderson (age 36.216, 100-59 record) in 1970 … Prior to Marmol, only player managers Rogers Hornsby (age 30.057, 100-79 record) in 1926 and Frankie Frisch (age 36.341, 100-72 record) in 1934 piloted their Cardinals teams to 100 victories before age 37 (chart left) – Elias
BIRD BATS: Through the first five days of the season, St. Louis leads MLB in hits (53), batting average (.356), OBP (.409), and OPS (945), and rank among league leaders in slugging (.537, 3rd), total bases (80, 4th), runs scored (26, 7th), and home runs (7, T-6th) … According to Baseball Savant, St. Louis ranks 2nd in hard hit balls of 95+mph (57) and 4th in MLB average exit velocity (90.3 mph).
DOUBLE-DIGIT HITS: The Cardinals, Red Sox, and White Sox are the only three MLB teams this season to record double-digit hits in each of their first four games … In franchise history, only seven Cardinals teams have opened a season with double-digit hits in four games or longer, most recently in 2003 (4g) … The 1901 & 1956 Redbirds share the record with 10+ hits in their first seven games.
GOLD STANDARD: Paul Goldschmidt has four multi-hit games to begin the season (2nd time of career; 2014) and joins Luis Arráez as one of two MLB players with four multi-hit games overall … Goldy is the first Cardinal to begin a campaign with a multi-hit streak of four games or longer since Ozzie Smith (4, 1989) … Curt Flood (1962) and Emmet Heidrick (1901) share the franchise record with multiple hits in the first six games of a season.
SOUTHPAWS BEWARE: St. Louis faces its first left-handed starting pitcher this season when former SEMO Redhawk Dylan Dodd makes his MLB debut tonight … Last season, the Cardinals led Major League Baseball in on-base percentage (.343), slugging (.465), and OPS (.809) off overall left-handed pitching, and sported a 24-11 record (.686) in games opposing starting southpaws … Last season Paul Goldschmidt set the Cardinals single-season franchise records in slugging (.813) and OPS (1.327) against lefties, while tying Albert Pujols (.411 in 2008) as the only two Cardinals since 1974 to hit .400+ vs. southpaws.
STILL TO COME: Three Cardinals yet to see action after the first four games are Giovanny Gallegos and tonight’s starting pitcher Steven Matz, second baseman Taylor Motter, and designated hitter Juan Yepez.
300 NADO DINGERS: Nolan Arenado is one homer away from becoming the 7th player to hit home run #300 in a Cardinals uniform, joining Stan Musial (June 3, 1955 at Brooklyn), Gary Gaetti (June 23, 1996 at Montreal), Jim Edmonds (Sept. 4, 2004 vs. LA Dodgers), Albert Pujols (July 4, 2008 vs. Chicago Cubs), Troy Glaus (Sept. 3, 2008 at Arizona), and Paul Goldschmidt (July 16, 2022 vs. Cincinnati) … Ranking 8th among all active Major Leaguers in homers, Arenado trails only Evan Longoria (332) among active third sackers and is 15th all-time in MLB history among primary third basemen
CARDINALS vs. BRAVES
All-Time (1892-2023):……………………. 1,086-986
All-Time vs. Atlanta (1966-2023):…………..290-266
in St. Louis (1892-2023):……………………577-464
at Sportsman’s/Robison Field (1892-1920):. 141-126
at Sportsman’s Park/Busch I (1920-65):…… 285-213
at Busch Stadium II (1966-2005): ……………… 126-99
at Busch Stadium III (2006-23):……………..25-26
in Boston/Milwaukee/Atlanta (1892-2021) …….. 508-519
in Boston (1892-1952): …………………………….. 315-302
at S. End Grnds II/III/Congress (1892-1914):. 81-124
at Fenway Park (1914-15):…………………………….. 5-6
at Braves Field (1915-52):………………………. 229-172
in Milwaukee (1953-1965):……………………………. 55-79
at Milwaukee County Stadium (1953-65):…….. 55-79
in Atlanta (1966-2022): …………………………….. 139-141
at Fulton County Stadium (1966-96):…………. 104-89
at Turner Field (1997-2016):……………………….. 27-43
at Truist Park (2017-22):……………………………….. 8-9
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: LHP STEVEN MATZ (5-3, 5.25 ERA IN 2022)
TONIGHT’S GAME
• Makes his 2023 season debut tonight, as he draws his first regular season starting assignment since 7/23/22 at CIN when he suffered a strained left knee while covering first base. The injury put him on the Injury List from 7/24-9/16.
• When he returned from the IL in Sept., he made five appearances out of the bullpen to conclude the 2022 season.
• Prior to the 7/23 start at CIN, he’d been out since 5/22 with a left shoulder impingement.
• His lifetime .684 winning percentage (13-6) in the month of April ranks 5th among active pitchers with 15 or more career April decisions. San Diego’s Michael Wacha leads the list at .800 (20-5).
• Went 2-0, 1.53 ERA in four Grapefruit League appearances (three starts).
• Facing the Braves for the first time since 2020 season. It will be his 16th career start against Atlanta, his most against any team.
• Ranks 14th among active MLB left-handed pitchers with 8.67 K’s/9 IP (min. 700 IP).
• St. Louis is his third MLB organization, entering his second Cardinals season with a 50-51 record and 4.30 ERA in career 156 games (146 starts) while pitching for the New York Mets (2015-20), Toronto Blue Jays (2021) and St. Louis (2022).
LAST TIME OUT
• Threw a spring high 6.0 IP in March 23 outing vs. the Yankees and allowed just one run on a 4th inning solo HR by Oswaldo Cabrera as the two teams played to a 1-1 tie.
DATE vs. RESULT DEC IP H R ER BB SO HR NP-S
3/23 NYY T 1-1 — 6.0 3 1 1 0 5 0 87-58
2022 SEASON
• Missed 102 games on the Injured List with a left shoulder impingement (5/23-7/16) and strained left knee (7/24-9/16). Was activated from his second stint in id-September and was added to the bullpen.
• Ranked 8th in MLB in Pitch Tempo (14.4 sec/pitch) with bases empty; 21.6 sec/pitch with runners on, leading all Cardinals relievers.
• Recorded the best strikeout (26.1%) and lowest walk rates (4.8%) of his career.
• Led Cardinals starting pitchers in strikeouts/9 IP (10.72 K).
• Began the season as a starting pitcher and was 4-3 with a 5.70 ERA in 10 starts.
• Was 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA in five relief appearances to end the year. Limited the opposition to a .150/.190/.250 slashline with a .440 OPS out of the bullpen.
• Made his first relief appearance of the season on 9/17 [2] vs. Cincinnati and first since 9/27/20 at Washington, earning the win with a scoreless 11th inning while stranding a runner.
• Earned a win in his start at Cincinnati (7/23) before going on the I.L. Three of his 5 wins in 2022 came vs. CIN.
CAREER
• Joined the Cardinals on a four-year contract (2022-25) after previously pitching for the New York Mets (2015-20) and Toronto Blue Jays (2021) organizations.
• In 2021, tied for the American League lead with 14 wins among left-handed pitchers.
• Since 2021, his 19 total wins rank T-10th among MLB left-handers, with Julio Urias (37) leading the list.
• Has landed on the Injured List 11 times over his Major League career, missing time in every season except for 2021 in which he missed time for a positive COVID-19 test.
• Also missed the 2010 and 2011 minor league seasons after undergoing Tommy John ligament replacement surgery.
• His one career complete game shutout is also a “Maddux” where he threw 99 pitches on July 27, 2019 vs. Pittsburgh.
• Finished 6th in the 2016 NL Rookie of the Year voting, going 9-8 with a 3.40 ERA, and 1.21 WHIP in 22 starts.
