TAKEAWAYS: The Braves cruised to a win in game one against the Rockies

AJ Smith-Shawver and Michael Tonkin held the Rockies to just three runs

The Braves took game one of the series with an 8-3 win over the Rockies.

AJ Smith-Shawver Delivered

AJ Smith-Shawver is only pitching in his third Major League game. The kid showed up in a big way again, looking like a veteran, and delivered. He gave up six hits and three earned runs in 5.2 innings. He struck out six batters and walked one. 

👏👏 @aj_smithshawver 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/HwVNy9br9x

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 16, 2023

The starting rotation has been hit hard with injuries. Even with an optimistic timeline, we do not expect to see Max Fried back until July and Kyle Wright until August. If AJ Smith-Shawver can keep pitching like this, he provides another quality arm to help the Braves press on through the summer until Fried and Wright return.

Only One Long Ball Needed

Matt Olson crushed a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Braves are tied for the Major League lead with the Los Angeles Dodgers for total home runs this season. Each team has hit 115 home runs. 

Safe to say Matt made contact.

⭐️: https://t.co/W6qzMwejkW pic.twitter.com/hqrr0UvVQD

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 16, 2023

The Braves scored their first seven runs tonight without hitting any home runs. It is a good sign for this powerful lineup when they are stringing together multiple base hits and putting up crooked numbers.

Five of the Braves eleven hits and four of the eight RBIs were from Albies and Olson. The two players swapped spots in the batting order tonight, with Olson moving to the fifth spot and Ozzie moving up to the two-hole. It looks like Snit made a great move, with both players coming through in significant ways to help the team win the game.

Tonkin Gets the Save

Michael Tonkin was clutch tonight. He pitched 3.1 innings of one-hit ball. He struck out a career-high six batters and also got the first save of his career. 

The Braves used everyone in their bullpen, except for Tonkin, to get through the doubleheader with the Tigers yesterday. Tonkin gave the team exactly what they needed tonight, letting the rest of the bullpen have the night off to gear up for the remainder of this four-game series. 

What's next? 

Game two of the series is set for Friday night in Truist Park, with a 7:20 PM ET first pitch. LHP Jared Shuster goes for Atlanta, while Colorado is sending RHP Dinelson Lamet to the mound. 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.

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