Braves Today

Takeaways: The Braves were off tonight and they still won!

How a night off is a victory for the Braves.

Matthew Jacobs

The Braves take a much-deserved and needed rest tonight before the Astros come to town tomorrow. With a hot 14-5 record under their belt after 19 games, the night off might be a good time to take a gander at what is looking good for the Braves and figure out how not playing is actually a win! The Braves have the NL East division lead by 2 games over the Mets and are tied for the best record in the National League. This is in spite of having a load of valuable talent currently on or just coming off of the DL.

The injury bug has bitten

Stud LHP Max Fried, who had been on the DL since opening day, finally came back this Monday. Catcher Travis d’Arnaud (concussion), OF Michael Harris (lower back), RP Collin McHugh (right shoulder), RP Lucas Luetge (left biceps), SS Orlando Arcia (fracture in wrist), and veteran closer Rasiel Iglesias (right shoulder), who has yet to appear this season, are all still out. They have also lost two pitchers for the season to Tommy John surgery, Huascar Ynoa and Tyler Matzek.

A night off gets you one day closer to getting all but two of those guys back. Add that in with how solid Fried looked Monday, and that is a win in anyone’s book.

Too hot to give the night off

Most of this lineup is too hot to sit out of a game right now, so a night off is a free break for the 4 guys that have played every game and are cooking right now. Ronald Acuña Jr. comes in smoldering, with a shining .367 AVG (.995 OPS) which consists of 8 stolen bases, 5 doubles, 2 homers, and has created a staggering 20.44 runs this year. The other 3, Albies, Olson, and Riley have accounted for 14 dingers and 45 RBIs. It is a win to give them a night off and not lose their production.

No Ozuna

Braves Country doesn’t have to watch Ozuna. The Braves organization doesn’t have to talk about Ozuna, and most importantly Ozuna doesn’t have to be in a lineup tonight. That is a night-off win for the Braves.

An editor once said, “Write the takeaways for the person who hasn’t seen the game.” Well, if you haven’t seen Ozuna bat this year, just know it is entirely possible that he is up at the plate swinging an unstrung tennis racket. He is sporting a .083 batting average right now and he makes more money, and this is a fair guess, than anyone who will read this makes in a year. One truly hopes the Braves hitting team has spent the day with him working on bunting so that he can feel what bat-to-ball contact feels like.

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Closing the game

Having an off-night before a home series with the Astros in a rematch of the 2021 World Series is a win for the fans that want to spend their weekend watching it. It is also worth noting that the Braves have won every game back from a night off so far this season. That makes all their nights off a win as well. 3-0 is a night-off streak!

The Braves are getting home cooking today and will blast off with the Astros Friday night. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:20 ET. The Braves will toe the rubber with Bryce Elder and the ‘Stros will send up Hunter Brown. Braves Today will be the go-to site for everything a Braves fan would want to know before, during, and after the game. The game broadcast will be on Apple TV+. The radio call, with Ben Ingram, is available locally on WIFN 1340 AM/103.7FM or outside the Atlanta market on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network or MLB.com.

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Matthew Jacobs
MATTHEW JACOBS

Author/Writer. Staff contributor for Sports Illustrated's @TheAuburnDaily and @Braves_Today Auburn Tigers (WDE) and Braves fan.  Christian The previous host of the Zen Shark Blog, Author of Needs No Translation, previously covered the Memphis Grizzlies, The Tennessee Titans, and Manchester City.

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