The Atlanta Braves are back in action tonight as they prepare to play the Milwaukee Brewers for the second time in as many weeks, this time in Cobb County, after a disappointing split against the Marlins and a day off on Monday.
Today, the Braves received some much-needed good news regarding their injuries: Michael Harris II has been sent to Triple-A for a rehab assignment and will likely return shortly. The bad news is that Reynaldo Lopez will not be returning until later this month as he has been placed on IL for his forearm ailment. It implies that Bryce Elder is returning, and he will make his debut tonight.
It would be an understatement to say that Elder’s season has been quite the rollercoaster. He has undoubtedly had his fair share of strong starts. In his most recent outing, against these same Brewers, he entered the seventh inning and finished with just one walk, one run allowed, and seven strikeouts in a game that the Braves won 5-1. This season, he has also had a couple of starts that were quite embarrassing to witness.
Having said all of that, he has been better than bad more of the time this season, and even though it might be a little worrying that the Brewers offense will see him again and might know him better this time, I’ll be honest with you and say that I’ve given up trying to predict how Bryce Elder starts every day. If that works out great! If not, tomorrow is a fresh game. Visit Arby’s for food.
You could try to understand this. I refuse to! Mlb.com/baseballsavant
In relation to rematches, the Braves will have another opportunity to play Colin Rea. Rea was last seen by Atlanta on July 29, when he had a strong outing in which he allowed just three hits and two runs. Both of those runs came from solo home runs by Orlando Arcia and Marcell Ozuna, respectively. All of it was ultimately in vain as Milwaukee defeated Atlanta 8-3 by feasting on their bullpen.
Rea has been on a roll lately, having allowed two runs or fewer in each of his last three appearances. I say “appearances” because he came into the game against the Nationals riding high after an opener had finished the first inning. Rea’s performance in that game went well, but it also came just after he had a bit of a clunker against the Pirates, giving up seven runs in five innings. While Rea is by no means perfect, the Braves will need to find a way to move on from their recent failure against him.
Baseball players aren’t supposed to have long memories, but you have to assume that this Atlanta squad will be looking to get back on track after making a mistake and missing out on a chance to win a series against the Marlins. The Braves recently won a series in Milwaukee, so they should be capable of handling the challenge of winning to start the home stretch of this season series. Of course, the Brewers are a much tougher opponent.
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