The Braves bounced back impressively against the Angels on Saturday night, benefiting from another outstanding performance from Chris Sale as the bats came to life and they won 11-3.
After missing a million scoring opportunities on Friday, the Braves wasted no time getting past Angels starter Griffin Canning on Saturday. Michael Harris hit a double, Austin Riley hit a single and Marcell Ozuna hit a ball 437 feet to center field to take a 3-0 lead in the first inning.
Harris scored another run in the second with an opposite-field single to make it 4-0. It’s only been a few games, but it’s so nice to have Harris back on the field and in the lineup.
The Braves tied the game in the fifth inning. Whit Merrifield hit his first home run since joining Atlanta. With two on and two out, Travis d’Arnaud hit a double just past Taylor Ward’s glove to score two more runs. Ramon Laureano then continued his power play, hitting a two-run shot to make it 9-0. The Braves scored two more runs in the seventh inning thanks to a miss that sailed into the dugout with the bases loaded.
It was an impressive offensive performance by the Braves, lighting up the Statcast leaderboards with a multitude of balls hit away from the bat at over 100 mph. After months of not reaching double-digit runs, the Braves have now scored 11 runs or more in three of their last nine games.
Chris Sale was outstanding once again. He went six innings and was looking for a shutout until Anaheim scored two runs in the sixth inning. He managed ten strikeouts, two walks and allowed the two runs on six hits. He is the current National League leader for the Triple Crown (wins, strikeouts, ERA) and the favorite for the Cy Young. What a season.
The series (and the long West Coast tour) concludes Sunday afternoon with Charlie Morton facing right-hander Jack Kochanowicz, who is making the fourth start of his career. The first three games haven’t gone well with a 7.98 ERA, so let’s hope the Braves can close out the trip with a win before they have a much-needed day off on Monday. First pitch is scheduled for 4:07 p.m. ET.
