Takeaways from Atlanta's Sunday victory over the Miami Marlins to secure the sweep

Atlanta secured the sweep behind Spencer Strider dominance and some timely hitting

Lindsay Crosby | Jul 2, 2023

The Atlanta Braves rallied from their only deficit of the series to defeat the Miami Marlins, 6-3, in game three to secure the sweep. Here's what you need to know from the contest:

Spencer Strider is on fire

Spencer Strider's best start of the 2023 season was April 24th against Miami, where he threw eight scoreless innings with two hits, no walks, and thirteen strikeouts as Atlanta defeated Miami 11-0 in Truist Park.

But he sure pitched pretty well.

Strider overcame two early runs, both in the second on six consecutive balls not hit particularly hard, to go six and two-thirds innings with six hits, three runs (two earned), one walk and nine strikeouts, using 109 pitches (71 strikes) to do it.

It's the continuation of a new level of performance for Strider, who has been mixing in his changeup a bit more over the last three outings, all quality starts (and Braves wins). Atlanta is 15-2 in his outings this season, including winning the last seven starts.

Ronald Acuña Jr is SO close to history

Acuña, who went 2-3 with a run scored in this game, is having a season for the ages and is (deservingly so) a starter for the 2023 All-Star Game as well as the favorite for National League MVP.

He's also close to making history.

With his two stolen bases today, Acuña passed his career high of thirty-seven stolen bases (set in 2019) and is on the verge of something historic.

In all of baseball, no player has ever reached the All-Star break with twenty homeruns, forty stolen bases, and fifty RBIs.

Ronald has twenty-one homeruns, fifty-four RBIs, and his two stolen bases today give him thirty-nine on the season. If he can steal one more base in the next seven games, he'll probably have to send that sliding mitt to Cooperstown.

Yeah, I think Orlando Arcia's back

There was some fretting in various corners of Braves Country about Orlando Arcia possibly needing a day off to reset - over the last nine games, he had only three hits while striking out nine times and has seen his batting average drop from .341 to "only" .298.

But as we said yesterday, he's had some poor luck recently, and that kind of thing evens out over time.

In Saturday's game along, Arcia - who was the only player to not record a hit in Atlanta's offensive explosion on Friday night - had three hard hit balls and got exactly one base hit out of it.

Luck may have corrected itself.

Arcia launched one into the center field seats in the 2nd inning off of Sandy Alcantara, and has continued to keep his head up despite the struggles, with the Bally Sports cameras catching him dancing in the dugout multiple times during Sunday's game.

I suppose if I were NL starter for the All-Star Game at shortstop, I'd be dancing too.

Plenty of reasons to celebrate right now

It feels like a broken record, but we've gotta say it again:

This team is really good.

Today's win was the sixteenth for Atlanta in the last seventeen games, and they've got ridiculous records against both the division and the league:

NL East - 22-6

National League - 40-14

And the biggest deal, as Travis d'Arnaud (who hit a record-setting homer today) explained: they're winning series. Atlanta's won nine consecutive series matchups, and that's allowed them to build a nine game lead in the NL East and set themselves up as the clear front-runners for the NL pennant.

"The eight in a row is cool, but the 𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 in a row is what it's all about."

Travis d'Arnaud on @Braves win streak⤵️ pic.twitter.com/Bw1BRXiUxz
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) July 2, 2023

What's next?

Atlanta flies to Cleveland tonight for a three game set against the 40-42 Guardians. First pitch in Monday's opener, with Bryce Elder taking the mound against prospect Gavin Williams, is set for 7:10 PM ET. The game broadcast, with Voice of the Braves Brandon Gaudin, is available inside Braves Country on Bally Sports South and is available on MLB.TV outside of the broadcast area. The radio call, with Ben Ingram, is available locally on 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan or outside the Atlanta market on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network or MLB.com.

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Published Jul 2, 2023

LINDSAY CROSBY

Managing Editor for Braves Today and the 2023 IBWAA Prospects/Minors Writer of the Year. You can reach him at contact@bravestoday.com