Braves Briefing: Ozzie Albies is destroying the baseball right now
Since manager Brian Snitker elevated Ozzie Albies to second in the lineup and moved Matt Olson down to the fourth spot, everything has been falling into place for the second baseman when it comes to batting.
Albies has participated in seventeen games as the second-place hitter for Atlanta this season. He has hit seven home runs within those seventeen games.
Batting behind Ronald Acuña Jr. and ahead of power hitters Austin Riley and Matt Olson, Ozzie is encountering more easily hittable pitches and has been flourishing.
In last night's loss to the Cleveland Guardians, Albies went 2 of three from the plate with two home runs—a game-tying two-run homer in the fifth inning and another game-tying solo homer in the ninth inning, extending the game to an extra inning.
NL East Standings
| Team | Record | GB | Action Today |
|---|---|---|---|
Atlanta | 57-28 | - | @ Cleveland |
Miami | 50-37 | 8.0 | Hosts STL |
Philadelphia | 45-39 | 11.5 | @ Tampa Bay |
NYM | 39-46 | 18.0 | @ Arizona |
Washington | 34-51 | 23.0 | Hosts Cincinnati |
We wrote it
Braves Today's Lindsay Crosby covered the action last night and highlighted Kobly Allard's performance.
Allard, making his 2nd start for Atlanta since being re-acquired via trade in the offseason, went five innings with four hits and three runs, striking out three and walking one.
The only player to really do damage against Allard was Amed Rosario, who hit only his 2nd homerun of the season to open the 6th inning (and chase Allard from the game) after doubling home two runs in the 3rd inning.
Allard's arsenal tonight was mostly fastball/curveball/cutter, with the lefty using his location and sequencing to make up for below-average velocity on the pitches. The four-seam fastball averaged 90.5 mph, touching 92, and the cutter was at 84 mph.
With his ability to locate and to extend through a full five innings (Allard came out with only 73 pitches), the lefty's a perfectly acceptable back-of-the-rotation option for Atlanta while they wait for Max Fried and Kyle Wright to return from their injuries.
Check out the full list of takeaways here.
Watch Atlanta Braves highlights vs the Cleveland Guardians
What's next for the Atlanta Braves?
The Wednesday rubber match is scheduled for a 7:10 PM ET first pitch, with Atlanta's Michael Soroka set to take on Cal Quantrill. 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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