Takeaways: Atlanta drops game two in Arlington to even the series

Atlanta loses the middle game of the series to sets up a deciding game three on Wednesday night

Lindsay Crosby | May 16, 2023

Atlanta dropped the middle game of this series, 7-4, to the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night in Arlington. What do you need to know from the contest?

Jared Shuster did his job

Coming into tonight, Jared Shuster's two MLB starts had not gone according to plan - eight innings with eight combined runs in his first two career starts. Our own Jake Mastroianni correctly identified the issue as walks, and Shuster did an admirable job of filling the zone and preventing free passes tonight.

Shuster finished the five inning outing with three hits and three runs, walking two and striking out three. He pitched really well, outside of a rocky start to the 4th inning where he gave up a leadoff single to Robbie Grossman, an RBI double to Nathaniel Lowe, and a two-run bomb to Adolis Garcia.

Five innings with three runs or less is as much as you can ask from a prospect making his third career start in the bigs, and outside of a few pitches he'd want back, Shuster gave you what you needed.

Why use Dylan Lee there?

When Shuster left the game, it was 3-1 Rangers. As we said, five innings with three or less runs is pretty much the expectation for a rookie making a spot start in the majors.

Atlanta used Dylan Lee to get through the the 6th inning, and then confusingly sent him back out for the 7th inning.

It didn't work out.

Lee allowed a one-out single to Leody Taveras, who promptly stole 2nd and was driven in by a Marcus Semien base hit. Semien was then driven in by Robbie Grossman before Atlanta went out to get Lee and replace him with Joe Jimenez.

With the Rangers batting .278/.363/.441 against lefties and two lefties - Taveras (switch) and Semien (lefty) up early in the 7th, why go back to Dylan Lee instead of using a right-handed relief option?

It felt like Brian Snitker and the coaching staff were trying to preserve arms for another bullpen game, when we know that we have one more game (with Spencer Strider starting) before we get an off day and then heading home to face the Mariners. Dylan Lee's a very good pitcher - one of the breakout relief options of 2023 - but there were better options there. Snitker overthought this one.

Ronald Acuña Jr. continues to rake

Acuña hit an 8th inning homerun, his 10th of the year, to narrow the deficit late. Driven out to straightaway center at 114.8 mph, the 455-ft home run brings him closer to the 40/40 pace he stated he wanted to be on for the 2023 season - as of now, Ronald sits at 10 homeruns and 17 steals through 41+ games, putting him on track to finish with just about 39 homeruns and 66 stolen bases in a 162-game season.

If Ronald is able to keep up a 40/40 pace for the full season, not only will he be the betting favorite for National League MVP, this Braves offense has a chance to hang with any team in Major League Baseball.

How to Watch the Atlanta Braves vs Texas Rangers

Tomorrow's rubber match is scheduled for an 8:05 ET first pitch. 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.

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

Published May 16, 2023