ARLINGTON, Texas — The weekend series between the Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves is a battle between two first-place teams, with the Rangers leading the AL West and the Braves heading up the NL East. The Rangers sit at 11 wins, just one behind the Braves’ 12. In addition to those similarities, the two teams are coming off series wins, with Texas handling Detroit and Atlanta helping out the Rangers by sweeping Houston.
Energy wise, however, it feels like the Braves have more in the tank than Texas at the moment. The Rangers enter this series ready to finish up a stretch of 17 games in 17 days – including a 10-game road trip that concludes in Atlanta – while the Braves enter the weekend having enjoyed a day off of rest and relaxation after wrapping up their series against the Astros on Wednesday.
These are two good teams that are expected to be contenders in their respective leagues, but the Rangers are hoping that they’re not catching a powerhouse on tired legs.
Texas Rangers (11-9, 1st Place AL West) @ Atlanta Braves (12-5, 1st Place NL East)
Previously, for Atlanta…
While the Rangers have more than their fair share of injuries to their championship-caliber roster (four starting pitchers, several relievers, and three position players), the Braves have seen several of their star players bitten by the injury bug early in the season.
First and foremost is the notable injury to expected NL Cy Young contender Spencer Strider. The strikeout artist is now counted among the rash of injuries to pitchers that has pockmarked the season early as Strider underwent UCL surgery, thus ending his season. Strider was able to make one healthy start, but that was shortened due to the injury.
The ailments for Atlanta didn't end there as Ozzie Albies, a three-time All-Star second baseman, fractured his toe after being drilled on the foot, and All-Star catcher Sean Murphy suffered an oblique strain in the first game of the season against Philadelphia, and while it’s considered a mild strain, the standout backstop is expected to be out until the end of the month.
Despite all of this, the Braves are coming back home from a very successful six-game road trip. They went 5-1, including a sweep of the Astros at Minute Maid. Additionally, this came at the end of a 12 games in 13 days stretch, during which they went 9-3, including a sweep of the National League Champion Arizona Diamondbacks earlier in the month.
How have they done it? Similar to last year, the Braves’ offense is leading all of baseball. Their team slash line of .294/.358/.484 leads the Majors, and perhaps surprisingly, they’re doing it without hitting the long ball.
Atlanta’s 20 homers as a team is right about middle of the back in the big leagues, and after DH Marcell Ozuna (his eight homers leads the National League), nobody has more than Matt Olson’s three. In fact, the team’s best hitter thus far, Orlando Arcia, has just one home run and eight RBI with a slash line of .377/.412/.557.
The winning pieces in the Atlanta bullpen include veterans Jesse Chavez, Joe Jimenez, A.J. Minter, and closer Raisel Iglesias, and they have been outstanding to make the barrage of Braves runs stand up.
What to watch for
- Game 21, 6:20 PM CT - LHP Andrew Heaney (0-2, 6.75 ERA) vs. LHP Chris Sale (1-1, 4.58 ERA)
- Game 22, 6:20 PM CT - RHP Nathan Eovaldi (1-1, 2.92 ERA) vs. RHP Charlie Morton (1-0, 5.29 ERA)
- Game 23, 6:10 PM CT - RHP Michael Lorenzen (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Darius Vines (0-0, 1.93 ERA)
The Rangers’ rotation has been given an extra day of rest from their usual turns thanks to the spot start by debuting Jack Leiter on Thursday. Andrew Heaney, as a result, draws the opening game against the reigning NL East champions. Heaney has yet to make it out of the fifth inning in any of his three starts this season and Texas has yet to win any of his starts.
In his last outing, against the Astros, Heaney pitched well enough to limit the damage to just two runs, but also walked four and allowed four hits, while lasting just 3 ⅔ innings, taking 79 pitches to record 11 outs. That kind of inefficient action leads to short starts, and a repeat could be especially troubling against Atlanta’s renowned offense.
The problem there is that Texas needs Heaney to give them some length. Here at the end of this stretch of games, they will be without Jose Ureña initially after he threw three innings in Thursday’s finale, and high leverage relievers Jose Leclerc and Kirby Yates were used twice in the Detroit series. Jake Latz and Austin Pruitt might be the first ones called out after Heaney, but Texas has to be hoping that Heaney can go at least five innings to not put the bullpen on the backfoot at the start of the weekend.
The second game features Nathan Eovaldi, who is often counted on to reset the rotation for Texas. The staff ace is looking to rebound from a rough start against Houston, an outing in which he gave up five runs and eight hits in six innings of work. The offense of the Braves will provide a tough test for Eovaldi.
In the finale, Michael Lorenzen will make his second start of the year, trying to ride the momentum of his season debut. Lorenzen went five scoreless against the Tigers – but the Braves are a different beast than Detroit at the plate. Lorenzen, as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies in the second half last season, has seen the Braves plenty of times, although just twice as a starter.
The Braves will send veterans Chris Sale and Charlie Morton to the mound in the first two games, with rookie Darius Vines drawing the closing game. Sale, who is featuring a fastball with velocity approaching the likes of his last healthy seasons, finished six innings against Miami in his last outing. The veteran lefty gave up five runs, but pitched much better than the final line would indicate. Sale is being asked to step up even more with Strider down for the season.
Charlie Morton is too. Morton, the 40-year old, entering his fourth season with the Braves, has pitched 5 ⅔ innings in each of his last three starts. His last outing, against Miami, saw him give up six earned runs in a game that Atlanta would eventually go on to win in a slugfest. Morton is still a strikeout pitcher, though, having accrued 18 strikeouts in 17 innings over his three starts.
Vines was recalled to help fill the Strider gap as well. In his season debut, on Jackie Robinson day, the 25-year old gave up just one earned run on four hits in 4 ⅔ innings. Last season, Vines made two starts for Atlanta down the stretch, showcasing his craftiness and ability to fight to get outs, despite featuring a low-90s fastball.
The weekend series in Atlanta is expected to be a battle between a couple of high powered offenses and the Rangers are going to need to try and take the advantage early against the Braves’ reduced rotation. Perhaps even more importantly, though, Texas’ rotation needs to keep Atlanta at bay long enough for their own lineup to give them leads to work with.
Do you think the Rangers will come away with a series win against one of the NL’s best? Share your predictions with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.
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