Was this a hangover game? Or was it a post-hangover game, given the travel-related off day on Monday? Whatever the case, the Braves didn’t put up much of a fight as they dropped a fairly meaningless contest to the Reds by a score of 4-0.
If you want a positive from this game, look at JR Ritchie. Though he didn’t alter his pitch mix and attack sequence in the way I was hoping to see, he still eviscerated a weak Reds offense in what could qualify as his best start so far. Maybe he makes the playoff
roster as a nine-batter-max lower leverage guy, but if he doesn’t, this was definitely something to build off of for the offseason.
Ritchie’s day was really pretty fun, especially in the early going. He struck out the side in the first (but also walked Elly De La Cruz). There were two more punchouts in the second, giving him a 5/1 K/BB ratio through his first nine batters. Things got a little dicier after that, as De La Cruz took him deep with two outs and none on in the third, followed by an errant walk, but he at least got a strikeout to end that frame. He collected two more strikeouts (and one more walk, again to De La Cruz) the rest of the way. His final line: an 8/3 K/BB ratio across 22 batters spanning five innings of work. His line included a sub-3.00 xFIP, his best in a multi-inning outing so far in his career, and far better than his MLB debut, which was his best start to date. (One homer allowed is also better than two.)
Nothing else of note really happened in this game, unless you want to be discouraged by the offense turning into the soporific version of itself once again. Owen Murphy relieved Ritchie and gave up two homers in three frames with a 1/0 K/BB ratio. Didier Fuentes breezed through his tune-up frame in the ninth.
The offense basically handed Brandon Williamson one of the best outings of his injury-interrupted career, and certainly his best since he was waylaid by shoulder and elbow problems in 2024. (Williamson had thrown just 58 innings from 2024-onward coming into tonight.) However, it wasn’t really all Williamson, or all paltry-Braves-offense, as Williamson managed just a 2/0 K/BB ratio, and the Braves had a .176 BABIP while he was in the game. There were multiple ripped balls right at infielders, and one barreled out.
The Braves actually kinda-sorta tried to rally once Williamson departed after six, but got nothing for it. The first two reached in the seventh, bringing the tying run to the plate, but each of Ozzie Albies, Michael Harris II, and Mauricio Dubon failed to do anything useful. Albies came into this game with a ghastly .280 xWOBA against southpaws, and an overperformance of that input that only puts him at a 99 wRC+ in a split he’s historically dominated, so batting him cleanup against a lefty isn’t really much of a flex these days. They actually loaded the bases to bring the tying run to the plate in the form of Matt Olson in the eighth, but he fouled out. Harris had a barreled double in the ninth, but the other batters all made outs.
Worth noting too, perhaps, is that Ronald Acuña Jr. departed partway through this game after fouling a ball off his lower leg. He was seen jumping down the steps leading to the clubhouse, so it was more of a why push it sort of thing — but he might get a few days off just because, again, why push it.
So, nothing doing here, really. The series theoretically continues tomorrow as Chris Sale gets his pre-playoff tune-up.
