The Atlanta Braves are carrying some strong vibes into this weekend’s road series at the New York Yankees.
They are fresh off a 7-0 homestand against the Nationals and Marlins, and have won a season-long eight straight games, pushing their NL East lead back to 8.5 games.
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They’ll put that on the line in the Big Apple, starting Friday night with the Braves debut of Tyler Mahle (3-9, 5.13 ERA).
Much of the disappointment surrounding Mahle’s addition wasn’t about him specifically, but more about the fact that he was the lone starter addition.
The right-hander’s ERA on his face isn’t entirely representative of his season, with an xERA (4.09), xFIP (4,11) and FIP (4.37) which are better than his ERA. Since returning from a one-month injured list stint due to a hamstring strain in late June, Mahle is 2-2 with a 3.79 ERA in seven starts, striking out 32, walking 13 and giving up just three homers in 38 innings.
His last start in San Francisco, though, was his worst in that span, giving up five runs on five hits over 5 2/3 innings. He did strike out a season-high nine in that start.
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The good news (of sorts) is that Mahle has been a somewhat reliable innings eater, throwing between 5 and 5 2/3 innings 11 times in 18 starts this season. He’s lasted less than five innings just four times, but also thrown six-plus innings just three times and seven-plus innings twice.
The Braves could stand to get a longer outing in Friday’s series opener after a rain delay washed out Martín Pérez’s Thursday start after just three innings, taxing the bullpen a bit.
Unfortunately for Atlanta, the Yankees are throwing their three best starters for this weekend series. That begins with an old friend in Max Fried (4-3, 3.12), who will be facing the team he debuted and played for his eight major league seasons for for the first time.
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The southpaw former Brave’s second season in New York was derailed by a left elbow bone bruise which sidelined him for over two months. However, he returned a few weeks ago and has allowed four runs on eight hits over 13 1/3 innings in his three starts back, not factoring into the decision in any of them.
Absence aside, this has been a typical Fried season. He’s not nearly on pace for last year’s win total, when he led the majors with 19 victories, but he’s well on pace for his seventh straight season with an ERA of 3.25 or better, averaging just under a strikeout per inning.
After he allowed a combined 27 homers the last two seasons, he’s allowed just one in 75 innings this season.
While Gerrit Cole and Cam Schlittler will follow on the mound for New York in this series, the potential saving grace for the Braves could be that the currently Aaron Judge-less Yankees’ offense still hasn’t really figured things out in an extended funk.
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New York has scored more than two runs just once in the last seven games and has plated five-plus runs just four times in 19 games since the All-Star Break.
There’s a forecast of scattered thunderstorms for New York on Friday evening, so keep tabs on Battery Power about the possibility of a delayed start to the series opener.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Friday, August 7, 7:05 p.m. EDT
Location: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, N.Y.
TV/Streaming: BravesVision
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan, La Mejor 1600/1460/1130 AM
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