The Chicago Cubs were on a hot streak since the mid summer classic on a five game win streak, but they hadn’t played the Braves yet this year. Former Braves SS Dansby Swanson showed no emotion about his former team coming to Chicago for a three-game set. He had no regrets leaving the Braves, but maybe he should have. He had zero hits yesterday as the Braves rolled to an 8-0 win.
Not sure if a season could go any better than the 2021 World Series Championship team of 2021, but I was wrong. The 2023 Braves team are breaking records left and right. After yesterday afternoon’s win at the Chicago Cubs, the Braves increase to a 12.5 game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East with a 70-37 record.
First baseman Matt Olson is having a monster year batting .262 with 37 homers and 92 RBI’s. He currently has 106 hits. He’s on pace to have close to 200 hits and close to 150 RBI’s. And he’s not bad playing 1st base either.
The Braves keep breaking records as C Sean Murphy and DH Marcell Ozuna hit back-to-back home runs to extend the league leading back-to-back homers with 14. The team also this year went 21 straight games with at least one homer.
And let’s not forget about RF Ronald Acura, Jr, who is breaking records left and right. He currently has a .338 batting average with 25 homers and 51 stolen bases. He is on pace to break Rickey Henderson’s (74) single season stolen base record to have 80 stolen bases.
The Braves have a batting lineup from top to bottom that can deliver each game. There is not a weak link in this lineup. All players in the lineup have double digits in homers with a team leading 209 total home runs. Closest team to the Braves is the Los Angeles Dodgers with 175.
The Braves got some good news as ace Max Fried, who had been on the IR for 91 days and hadn’t pitched since early May, pitch 6 scoreless inning yesterday against the Cubs. Total pitching can be a concern for this team, but they are fourth overall with a 3.81 ERA. San Diego Padres are tops with a ERA of 3.72, so not much different.
Braves seem not to be letting up trying to win a second World Series in three years, and they are on the right track. But there are still two months in the season to prove if that crown will be theirs.
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