Once more, Atlanta produced their big inning.We witnessed both of the Braves’ оffensive trends from the previous season, which they continued to use their route to league-leading run production in 2023.

First, Atlanta scored early. Four pitches into the game, Ronald Acuña Jr. reached base via Һit batter’s pitch, stole second base (advancing to third on catcher Omar Narvaez’s throwing error), and scored on a base Һit by Ozzie Albies. This gave Atlanta a 1-0 lead.

The other theme, though, involved a strong оffensive inning that resulted in a crooked letter being written on the board and gave the Braves a lead large enough to alter the course of the game going forward.

Start the third inning from the bottom. Eight batters were put to the field by Atlanta, who scored four runs on six straight singles. Atlnata’s offense was able to keep the line going and consistently get runners in to score, while it wasn’t the home run barrage Braves fans were accustomed to from the previous season. Atlanta Һit eight balls in that inning, the softest of which had an exit velocity of 94.5 mph, and six of which had an exit velocity of more than 100 mph.

With just one extra-base Һit, an Ozzie Albies double, Atlanta managed to score six runs on eleven hits at the game’s conclusion. Notable outings include Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies, who both collected two hits with a run and two RBIs, and Ronald Acuña Jr., who went 2 for 3 with three runs and three stolen bases.

Reynaldo Lopez is a PITCH machine.Teams have attempted, with dubious results, to turn relievers into starters. (I’m staring at you, Miami Marlins—please return A.J. Puk to the bullpen.)

However, Reynaldo López is performing the task expertly. While he’s far from flawless—he did allow three hits in this game—he has already produced two straight strong starts in his first two games of 2024. I don’t think anyone anticipated that López would end up being the team’s best starter in terms of statistics.

His ability to not only successfully lower his velocity to last through an entire outing—his fastball was averaging around 98 mph last season as a reliever—but also to ramp it back up and grab a little extra when needed is what most impresses me about him.

Six scoreless innings, three hits, three walks, and six strikeouts were López’s final line. He has thrown twelve innings this season, giving up seven hits, five walks, and eleven strikeouts with just one run allowed.

At last, Ronald Acuña Jr. began to speak—sort of

The current NL MVP is 8-36 with two doubles, nine runs scored to four RBIs, and one stolen base through 36 games this season. The only other Braves regular without a barrel entering tonight was him.

Even though Acuña didn’t score many runs tonight, he appeared more like the Ronald Acuña Jr. who easily won MVP last season, finishing 2-2 with three stolen bases and three runs scored. In the fourth inning, during an at-bat by Ozzie Albies, there were two stolen bases.