Takeaways from Atlanta's game two win vs Cincinnati
Kyle Wright's season debut didn't go as planned, but the Braves received key contributions from some unlikely names to take the series against Cincinnati. Here are some takeaways.
Mash Olson
It wound up being his only hit of the night (he struck out in his other three at bats), but what a hit it was.
As mentioned earlier, this was the hardest-hit ball of the season so far by any Brave, and Olson made the most of that exit velocity by sending it over the home bullpen for an early 1-0 lead.
Not Quite Wright
Tonight marked the season debut for Kyle Wright, who piled up 21 wins in a breakout season last year. But the righty didn't quite seem ready in this one. He got through two innings unscathed, but seemed to lose the plate at times in both frames. Things came to a head in the third, when the Reds sent ten men to the plate and plated four runs.
To be fair, Wright was plagued by some poor ball-in-play luck, with Cincinnati's three hits being a seeing-eye grounder between Austin Riley and Orlando Arcia, a Baltimore chop double over Olson's head, and a shift-busting grounder that Ozzie Albies couldn't get to in time to record the third out (two runs scored on that play). But Wright was also seemingly dealing with mechanical issues causing his sinker to sail arm-side, plus some wonky velocity/movement readings with his other pitches. Hopefully it's just rust, but it'll be interesting to see what adjustments he makes in his next start.
Ozzie Goes Golfing
Sitting on 99 career taters for several days now, Ozzie Albies hit the century mark in style tonight. His three-iron into the Chop House tied the game up and is hopefully a sign of him breaking out of an early-season cold spell.
Sam Hilliard - Red Menace
While Olson and Albies had the Braves' homers tonight, Sam Hilliard got the start in center and had a big night.
That was his second double of the evening, and his RBI gave the Braves a lead they wouldn't relinquish. He also walked and scored a run. The club certainly misses Money Mike Harris, but it's hard to complain about the contributions they've received in his absence. (And, yes, that was Marcell Ozuna chugging around to score on that double. He only went 1-4, but he made good contact three times tonight so maybe this is a sign of life.)
Tonkin Stompin
I'm still working on a pun for Michael Tonkin's name (as were Brandon Gaudin and Jeff Francoeur in the Braves' TV booth tonight), and if he keeps pitching like this, we'll definitely need to come up with something cool. He recorded his first big league win since 2016 tonight by pitching three scoreless innings following Wright's departure. He allowed a single to the second batter he faced, and then retired the next eight men before being pulled after the sixth inning.
It was a strong night generally for the Atlanta bullpen, with the only blemish being a brief rough outing for Joe Jiménez, who faced four men in the eighth and allowed a two-run bomb to Reds shortstop Jose Barrero. Otherwise, Tonkin, Jesse Chavez, Dylan Lee, and closer-for-tonight Nick Anderson did excellent work, with the latter recording his tenth career save with a perfect ninth. The Braves will now go for the sweep tomorrow night in a game that pits two absolute flamethrowers against each other, Cincinnati's Hunter Greene and Atlanta's Spencer Strider.
On Deck
Wednesday's game in Truist Park is scheduled for a 7:20 ET first pitch. The game broadcast, with Voice of the Braves Brandon Gaudin, is available inside Braves Country on Bally Sports Southeast, 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.
Atlanta Braves stories from the Cincinnati Reds series
Takeaways from Atlanta's game one win vs Cincinnati
WATCH: Sean Murphy walks it off in extra innings versus the Cincinnati Reds
WATCH: Orlando Arcia continues to be incredible
WATCH: Matt Olson crushes first-inning homer to stake Braves to early lead
WATCH: Ozzie Albies ties the game with two-run homer
BREAKING: Atlanta activates pitcher Kyle Wright from injured list
Podcast: The Atlanta Braves need to make changes, Cincinnati Reds preview
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