Braves Briefing: Is Michael Soroka ready to return?

The Atlanta Braves may be getting some much needed pitching help soon.

The Atlanta Braves saw Spencer Strider record double-digit strikeouts Tuesday night but still had little to offer in an 8-1 loss against the Los Angeles Dodgers Tuesday night.

With other pitchers Max Fried and Kyle Wright still working on returning - Fried's targeting mid-July, while Wright's going to be closer to mid-August (or later) - the Atlanta Braves are in a situation where they're just having to wait on their guys to get healthy enough.

Michael Soroka is another guy that could be getting close enough to be able to return to the Braves, as he had his best outing of the season Tuesday for the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers. 

Soroka threw 96 pitches, allowed just one run and two hits in his most recent start. He also struck out eight. He completed more than five innings in just one start this season prior to Tuesday. His efficient play to get through six innings was a good sign on Tuesday regarding his progress of returning to the majors for Atlanta. 

NL East Standings

Team	Record	GB	Action Today
Atlanta	29-19	-	Hosts LAD
NYM	25-24	4.5	@ CHC
Miami	24-25	5.5	@ Colorado
Philadelphia	22-26	7.0	Hosts Arizona
Washington	20-28	9.0	Hosts San Diego

We wrote it

Will Moon tackled our coverage Tuesday night. He didn't hold back in his takeaways written about the Braves' effort.

Straight up, the Braves looked dead out there tonight. That's easy for me to say, but certainly the last 17 innings (since jumping out to that 4-0 lead Monday night) have not gone well. The Dodgers have outscored the Braves 13-3, with a series of LA pitchers largely mowing the Atlanta offense down. Tonight saw the major league debut of star Dodgers prospect Bobby Miller, and he navigated through five innings of one-run ball behind a fastball that routinely hit triple digits. The same relief pitchers that controlled the Braves last night - Evan Phillips, Yency Almonte, and Brusdar Graterol - again did so tonight, while the Atlanta bullpen allowed the Dodgers to keep adding on, leading to an unfortunately familiar result.

Check out the full takeaways here.

Watch highlights from Atlanta and Los Angeles

What's Next?

Tomorrow night the Braves send Bryce Elder (3-0, 2.06 ERA, 3.34 FIP in nine starts) to the hill in the hopes of avoiding a sweep. The Dodgers will counter with right-hander Tony Gonsolin (2-1, 1.13 ERA, 4.04 FIP in five starts). The game will be broadcast inside Braves Country on Bally Sports South with Voice of the Braves Brandon Gaudin and is available on MLB.tv outside the local 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.

---

Other Stories from the Los Angeles Dodgers Series
WATCH: Ron Washington clipped by a foul ball, hears about it from Braves dugout
WATCH: Austin Riley ties it up with an RBI double into the gap
Lineup, how to watch Atlanta's Tuesday night game two against the Los Angeles Dodgers
Takeaways: The Braves drop game one of their three-game set with the Dodgers
The Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers have a LOT in common with each other
Report: Dodgers are calling up top pitching prospect Bobby Miller for Tuesday's start in Atlanta
PODCAST: Atlanta Braves vs Freddie Freeman; Ronald Acuña keeps shining

Check out Braves Today on Socials!
Follow Braves Today on Twitter!
Like Braves Today on Facebook!
Check out the homepage for more Atlanta Braves News!
Subscribe to Braves Today on YouTube!
Get Exclusive Braves Merchandise from FOCO