Braves Notes - September 11, 2020

Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker meets with the media before game two of the series in Washington against the Nationals

From the Atlanta Braves Notes:

The Braves and Nationals meet tonight to continue a four-game set with the eighth of 10 matchups between the clubs this season... The teams split six games at Truist Park, and this series marks the last meeting between the clubs this season. • The Braves are averaging 7.0 runs a game (49 total) against the Nationals this season. • The Braves are looking to win the season set with the Nationals for the third straight year, after they went 11-8 last season and 10-9 in 2018. • The Braves are 17-12 (.586) over the last three seasons in Washington after going 1-19 here in 2015-2016. 

RHP Josh Tomlin is set for his third start this season against Washington, after going 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA (3 ER/10.0 IP) over his first two... The 6-foot-1, 190-pound native of Tyler, TX, beat the Nationals in his last start five days ago with 6.0 innings of one-run ball...For his career, Tomlin is 1-1 with a 3.80 ERA (10 ER/23.2 IP) in 10 games, three starts against the Nationals. 

RHP Erik Fedde is 0-1 with a 17.36 ERA (18 ER/9.1 IP) in three games, two starts, against the Braves...The 6-foot-4, 195-pound native of Las Vegas, NV, faced the Braves once this season, going 3.2 innings and allowing four runs, earned, and three home runs. 

THE OFFENSE: The Braves won, 7-6 last night, scoring all of their runs via four home runs...This came a night after scoring a major league record-tying 18 runs by home run in a 29-9 win over Miami. • The Braves have scored 262 runs this season, two off the major league lead of the San Diego Padres...The Padres have played two more games than Atlanta...The Braves’ 5.95 runs per game is the most in the majors and would set the franchise modern-era record...The current record is held by the 2003 club (5.60). • The Braves offense is third in the league in homers (79), first in doubles (94), second in batting average (.270), first in slugging (.495), second in on-base percentage (.345) and first in OPS (.840). • The Braves’ season OPS would be the 15th best for a team in the modern era, and the fifth best for a National League team...The ‘27 Yankees set the record with a .873 mark. • Since the start of the month, the Braves have hit 31 home runs, scored 87 runs and are slugging .624...Those totals are all the most in the league over this time frame. • In fact, the Braves’ 31 home runs in September are 11 more than the next closest team (Mets) and are more than the combined total of the five worst home-run hitting teams over this stretch (28 total; Nationals, 4; Mariners, 5; Pirates, 5; Athletics, 6; Cubs, 8; 

COMEBACKS: The Braves rallied from a 5-0 deficit last night to win, 7-6...The victory marked the Braves’ 13th come-from-behind win of the season, third most in the National League. • The victory also marked the Braves’ second this season when facing a deficit of at least five runs... They are the only team with multiple such wins... The 29 other teams have six such wins...All together, teams are 8-256 (.030) this season when falling behind by five runs at any point in a game. • The Braves also beat the Mets, 11-10, on July 31 after falling behind, 8-2, heading to the bottom of the fifth inning. 

 THE BULLPEN: The Braves bullpen tossed 7.1 innings last night and allowed one run to lower the relievers’ collective ERA to 3.31 (72 ER/196.0 IP), which ranks second best in the National League...Only the Dodgers’ relievers have a better mark (2.58). • Over the final four innings last night, the Braves bullpen allowed just one hit, an infield single to Asdrubal Cabrera with two outs in the ninth...For the season, from the sixth inning on, the Braves bullpen has a 2.39 ERA (39 ER/146.2 IP)...That mark is the best in the National League and trails only Oakland’s 2.03 for the major league lead. POSTSEASON OUTLOOK: The Braves moved three games ahead of second-place Philadelphia last night after the Phillies dropped a 7-6 decision to Miami. • The Braves lowered their magic number to clinch the division to 16...The club’s magic number to clinch a postseason berth is at 13. • If the playoffs started today, the Braves would play the Marlins in the first round, with the winner of that series taking on the winner of Chicago and St. Louis in the Division Series.