TAKEAWAYS: Braves restore order, wax Phillies to snap losing streak

Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider edge closer to history and the Braves take out some frustrations in a 9-3 win

Now this is the kind of game we were looking forward to after the Braves clinched the division last week. After a run of four straight dispiriting losses, Atlanta spent much of Tuesday night cruising to an easy win while threatening the record books in multiple categories. Here are some takeaways.

La Bestia Encarnada

Ronald Acuña set the tone tonight. He hit the first pitch he saw out of the ballpark, and it sparked a big night from the Atlanta offense. His second homer was even more impressive, an absolute scalded dog that went 411 feet out to centerfield on a line. All told, Ronnie went 3-5 tonight with two homers, two RBIs, three runs scored, and a stolen base. That gives him a season line of a .338 batting average, 39 taters, 100 RBIs, 138 runs scored, and 67 steals.

Beyond that, his OPS jumps to 1.014, his wOBA to .428, and his wRC+ to 171. He's on the cusp of a 40/40 season with the caveat of it likely being a 40/70 season. He's got a shot at the Braves' modern era record for steals in a season (72), and he's already surpassed the franchise modern-era record for runs scored in a season. He's having a ludicrous year, and it just gets more ludicrous with each passing accomplishment.

Spencer Stopper

A stopper is a pitcher you can rely on to give you a good outing when the rest of the staff is struggling. After multiple meltdowns in Miami and a spanking from these Phillies last night, it's safe to say the Braves' pitching staff was struggling. Spencer Strider was the stopper tonight, throwing seven innings, allowing three earned runs, four hits, no walks, and striking out 11. The only blemish was a three-run homer by Bryce Harper, who hits homers against the Braves in his sleep.

Otherwise, Spencer was spitting hot fire all night. The 11 Ks move him to within six of John Smoltz's modern era single-season franchise record, which he set in his monster 1996 Cy Young Award-winning season. As for Strider's chances of winning the Cy, his ERA stays at 3.73 because of the Harper bomb, and that could be an issue. Otherwise, his statline is impeccable. His league-best FIP and xFIP numbers improve to 2.83 and 2.93 respectively, he keeps his push for a 20-win season alive with his 18th W of the year, and he'll close the gap on Zack Wheeler's pitching fWAR lead.

And just like he went to the post last week in the game that locked down the division title, he went to the post tonight in a game that ended the team's worst stretch of play this season. Spencer Strider - stopper.

Piling On

Let's be real, it was nice to see the Braves just pummel somebody. It's entirely unreasonable for us to complain about this season, but this four-game stretch just felt really bad, worse than even it was. Maybe because it was all division foes, or just that it's so close to playoff time that everything gets magnified. Also you had the worrying Acuña injury in Miami and Max Fried's quasi-blister. But then you have a night like tonight, where everybody's chipping in and the game is in hand pretty much the whole way, and the long national nightmare is over...at least for now.

There'll be plenty of time for more unnecessary panic later, at least among us fans/writers. I'm sure the team will keep their heads about them as they wind down this historic regular season. Speaking of...

On Deck

The Braves and Phils wrap up the season series tomorrow afternoon, with first pitch coming bright and early at 12:20 Eastern. Bryce Elder (12-4, 3.50 ERA, 4.19 FIP, 4.33 xFIP) gets the ball for Atlanta, while Philly counters with the familiar face and hair of Aaron Nola (12-9, 4.62 ERA, 4.19 FIP, 3.79 xFIP). The Braves now lead the season series 8-4.

The TV broadcast will be available on Bally Sports South locally and MLB.tv outside of Braves Country. The radio call is available in the Atlanta metro area on 680 The Fan, across the Southeast on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network, and nationally on MLB.TV. The Braves then head to DC for their final road series of the season, with a four-game set against the Nationals starting on Thursday night.

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