CHICAGO — A robust collective effort from Atlanta’s offense was not sufficient to safe a win for the Braves at Wrigley Subject on Monday. Regardless of scoring six runs on 10 hits, the Braves fell to the Cubs in 10 innings, 7-6.
The offense scored six runs within the first 5 innings, giving the Braves a 6-1 lead, however that was finally overshadowed as their pitchers allowed the Cubs to chip away on the five-run buffer.
Beginning pitcher Spencer Strider gave up three runs on 5 hits and three walks, pitching into the sixth inning regardless of not feeling like he had his finest stuff. Strider mentioned he felt like his slider specifically was not shifting the way in which he wished, and he may inform instantly that the Cubs’ batters had been selecting up on that.
“Simply no motion to it,” Strider mentioned of his breaking pitch. “I don’t know in the event that they had been searching for it in sure counts, however they simply actually by no means supplied at it. And you understand, that’s what good groups do, they usually have a great strategy they usually had been powerful.”
Strider mentioned with the ability to see the pitch metrics on the left-field scoreboard at Wrigley helped him gauge what was off about his slider from the start of his outing.
“A whole lot of parks don’t have [that], Truist [Park] doesn’t have it,” he mentioned. “It’s actually useful to creating recreation changes, if you happen to’re in a position to take action. Form of get an concept of the place your stuff’s at. It’s good to know type of the place you might be. Helps inform choice making and offers you prompt suggestions on if a man doesn’t supply at a pitch and you are feeling such as you executed it. You possibly can type of get some context instantly to why.”
Strider continues to be seeking to discover the shape that made him a 20-game winner in 2023 earlier than a proper elbow surgical procedure value him nearly all of final season. Coming off of a ten.13 August ERA, Monday’s efficiency was one thing of a step in a great course, particularly coming off of his Aug. 25 begin, when he tossed seven innings of one-run ball in opposition to the Marlins.
“It’s simply going to be up and down for him,” supervisor Brian Snitker mentioned. “Final one, we had an entire lot of optimism. We nonetheless have optimism. So long as he can preserve making begins, that’s the factor. And he’s going to have some off days, like everyone does.”
Relievers Hunter Stratton and Dylan Lee labored to protect the shrinking lead, however Pierce Johnson and John Brebbia gave up three mixed runs (two earned) within the closing three frames. It was Carson Kelly’s single to left subject within the tenth in opposition to Brebbia that sealed the win for the Cubs.
This spoiled a strong effort from Snitker’s lineup. Apart from leadoff man Jurickson Profar, each spot within the Braves’ order bought on base at the very least as soon as, and Drake Baldwin, Ozzie Albies, Michael Harris II and Nacho Alvarez Jr. every reached a number of occasions. Baldwin walked twice and singled twice and was part of the scoring within the third and fifth innings, whereas Harris II hit a single and a double and scored a run within the fifth.
“We’ve been a distinct crew right here these days,” Harris mentioned. “And everyone’s type of honing in and believing in one another and simply making an attempt to do little issues to attain runs. All people’s not making an attempt to be the hero. It’s simply doing the little issues to get on and recover from and permit the subsequent man behind you to do the job.”
The Braves have now been walked off within the tenth inning twice within the final three video games, after giving up the go-ahead run within the eighth on Friday and getting blown out 19-4 on Thursday night time.
Regardless of that — and a brief after taking part in Sunday night time in Philadelphia — the Braves got here into the guests’ locker room at Wrigley stuffed with vitality on Monday afternoon.
“We rebounded from the blowout a couple of days in the past and have performed two actually good groups, and we’re proper there,” Snitker mentioned. “And you understand, I feel we simply should preserve battling. I’m pleased with the fellows — we bought in actually late, [but] we got here out and performed a extremely spirited, good ballgame in the present day.”
