Atlanta Braves Saturday Morning Chop: the Box, Draft Update
Braves relief pitcher
Jason Grilli(39) celebrates the final strike out as the Braves defeated the New York Mets 2-1 at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
The Night Before
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- Atlanta Braves Acquire Lewin Diaz from the Orioles
Go figure… The braves are still just 33-35 but nonetheless still hanging around at just 2.5 games behind the Mets (2 behind Washington) for the NL East Division lead.
As time marches on, it does appear that John Hart is more than willing to keep tweaking things to remove lesser performers, add better performers, and continue marginally improving the club.
This includes the formal release of Trevor Cahill, which was quietly done yesterday.
The Braves are second in the National League in total number of team transactions (yes, I counted). Atlanta now has around 105 of them since April 1st; as of a couple of days ago, the Dodgers were #1 with close to 130. The Mets were next at 90.
ESPN pointed out some curious similarities between Wizzy’s start last night and that of John Smoltz‘s debut:
- Both beat the Mets
- Both went 8 innings (Smoltz being the last Braves starter to go that far until last night)
- Both having been acquired in high-profile trades
- Smoltz was just over 21 at the time; Wisler will be 23 in September, but that’s still young by recent standards
From all known references, Wisler’s 88 pitches was also a surprising minimum – perhaps the fewest for 8 innings or more in a debut ever, though the history is sketchy on that bit.
But in the meantime, here’s the box score from last night’s successful debut of young Matt Wisler!
Next: Braves Sign Another Top Draft Choice