Atlanta Braves vs Cincinnati Reds: Get To Know Our Opponent
By Jeff Schafer
The Atlanta Braves will take on the Cincinnati Reds in a four game series starting Thursday. Both teams currently sit with a record of 10-11 for the 2015 season. Five of the Reds wins have come against arguably the worst team in the league – the Milwaukee Brewers.
To get us ready for the upcoming series, we reached out to the guys at Blog Red Machine to get their perspective on the season, series, Braves and Reds. Personally, this is a series the Braves should win and could actually sweep…though so far this season (and most years) we’ve played down to our competition and played well versus the good teams.
Lets check out what Matt Wilkes from Blog Red Machine has to say in this weeks installment of our Series Preview Q&A’s.
Tomahawk Take: Tell me about the four Reds starters we’ll see in this series. How have they preformed this season and do you think they can shut down the Braves offense?
Blog Red Machine: Overall, the Reds starting rotation has been steady in the early going of the season. Johnny Cueto has been his typical dominant self and Anthony DeSclafani, who was acquired in the Mat Latos trade, has been a nice surprise and currently leads baseball in ERA. Mike Leake, who the Braves will see in game one, has been solid, but unspectacular so far. Veteran Jason Marquis has been the rotation’s biggest weakness with a 5.48 ERA, but is coming off of his best start of the season against the Brewers. The Braves won’t see him in the series, but Michael Lorenzen was recently called up to replace Homer Bailey in the rotation and had a solid debut. As for whether Reds pitching can shut down the Braves, I’m not so sure outside of Cueto. The Braves certainly lost a big weapon in Justin Upton, but Freddie Freeman, Nick Markakis, and A.J. Pierzynski have kept the offense rolling so far.
TT: Your lineup is significantly better when Joey Votto is there…how’s he doing this year and since it’s still early, are you anticipating him bouncing back from 2014?
BRM: The Reds have struggled to score runs at times this season and I can’t imagine how much worse they would be without Joey Votto. So far, he’s looked like the Votto of old, spraying balls all over the field and hitting for power. He’s currently mired in a 1-for-16 slump, but he still leads the Reds with a .312 batting average, seven home runs, and 16 runs batted in. And of course, he’s also in the top five in the league in walks. It’s early, but it looks like Votto is on track for a huge bounceback season.
TT: Billy Hamilton didn’t quite live up to the hype last year. He’s fast, but needs to get on base more. Do you think this will come with time or is he hitting his stride at the plate?
BRM: Hamilton isn’t hitting the ball particularly well, sitting at .218 on the season, though he does have 13 steals already. Like you said, one of his weaknesses a season ago was not getting on base enough, but he’s shown a bit of a better eye so far in 2015, walking seven times in 86 plate appearances (8.1 BB%). His on-base percentage is still low at .282 and will need to improve with the bat, but at the very least, he’s taking more walks this season. I do think he has a chance to develop into a very dangerous weapon in the future, as he’s still only 24 years old, but he’s going to have to improve at the plate for that to happen.
TT: The Braves lineup has a majority of left handed hitters. Meaning, we don’t want to get to the 9th inning without the lead. How has Aroldis Chapman pitched so far in 2015 and what about the rest of your bullpen?
BRM: Aroldis Chapman has been his typical self this season as he’s yet to allow a run in 11 appearances. As you might expect, he’s striking out people left and right with 19 strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings and has held opponent’s to a .135 average. The rest of the bullpen, however, is another story. After a terrible 2014 season, the Reds’ bullpen has been even worse this season. Kevin Gregg (9.00 ERA), Jumbo Diaz (9.72), and the Reds’ biggest offseason acquisition, Burke Badenhop (15.43), have been horrendous and Bryan Price‘s insistence on using them in close games has been maddening. If there’s been a bright spot outside of Chapman, it’s been Tony Cingrani, but he’s only pitched 6 1/3 innings as Price had the long relief role until recently.