Five things you need to know before tonight’s Atlanta Braves game: June 29, 2018

It is almost time before the Atlanta Braves take on the St. Louis Cardinals for a 3 game series and we’ve got everything you need to know before tonight’s game

Ronald Acuna Returns

The Atlanta Braves made a lot of moves on Thursday that including the activation of Ronald Acuna back from the DL. Acuna took a scary injury back on May 27 in Boston when he hyperextended his knee crossing first base spraining his left knee’s ACL and contusions to his lower back.

Luckily it wasn’t anything worse and he is now back in a little over a month. Before the injury, Acuna was batting .265 in 29 games with five homers. He was also batting second in the lineup but will probably start at fifth or sixth for the game until he starts grinding again.

How Will The Roster Shake Up

The Braves haven’t been playing their best baseball as of late. Over their last 10 games, they split a 5-5 W-L record with most of the wins coming from walk-off or close point differential. Also some of their loses SHOULD HAVE been wins.

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In the series against the Reds, all three games were close. Game one was one in extra innings after Lucas Sims gave up the lead in the 6th. The second game was a close one but Anibal Sanchez and the bullpen allowed too many runs for the Braves to comeback.

In the last game of the Reds series, they lost due to bullpen failure again (a common theme) when Sam Freeman gave up the three runs and the lead after Sean Newcomb pitched a solid seven innings. Braves went on to lose 6-5 there and lost the series.

That was the second straight series loss for the Braves as they lost two out of three games to the Baltimore Orioles prior.

Not only has the pitching woes hit the team hard but the Braves offense is working a bit different than it was before Acuna was injured.

Charlie Culberson has stepped up and been very vital to the offense since filling in for Acuna. Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis has cooled down a bit and after a small drought, Albies has fired back strong. Markakis did have a 3-RBI game in one of the Orioles game.

Maybe Acuna will be a jolt to spark the offense some more but guys like Johan Camargo and Dansby Swanson need to get more consistency. One question is now with Acuna back, what will the Braves do with Culberson and his hot bat? Do they slide him back on the bench or will he platoon at third and short until one of the other guys heat up?

One other option is if manager Brian Snitker wants to give Albies another day off, Camargo or Culberson could move there. That’s the thing when you have a few utility guys, you have a lot of possibilities. Doubt it though. Danny Santana might be DFA’d to make room for another arm if needed.

Are Ender And Ozzie Good To Go?

That leads to this: are the two lead-off guys ready? Inciarte left early during Wednesday’s game with an “oblique twinge.” The assumption is he will be good to go tonight.

Albies didn’t even play on Wednesday after being hit in the left foot by a Matt Harvey pitch Tuesday. Albies also should be good to make the start.

However, Culberson (and maybe Danny Santana) are available to fill in if necessary.

But it does look like at least Albies is ready:

What Is Going On With The Rotation?

Along with Acuna’s activation, the Braves also announced another move: Brandon McCarthy to the DL. McCarthy, who was expected to start on Saturday, had a right knee tendinitis. Matt Wisler was called up as a corresponding move.

This comes just a few days after Mike Soroka was transferred to the 60-day disabled list and not long after Mike Foltynewicz and Julio Teheran made their returns from injuries.

Aside from the constant injuries, the Braves starters have not made long starts with only a handful of starts as a whole where they went 7+ innings. The staff ace Teheran has had an up-and-down year so far with the “down” going really low while Newcomb seems to take 20 pitches every inning.

The rotation also seem to always have trouble in the first inning and that’s not good to start the game with a high hill for the offense. The call-up of Kolby Allard seems to be closer. Maybe the Braves get reinforcement from somewhere else but the trade deadline is coming up.

Will Julio Teheran Get It Together?

Like previously stated, 2018 has not been a good one for Teheran. From injuries to poor outings, the staff ace hasn’t really been a leader for the core. The 27-year-old currently sits at a 5-5 record with a ERA of 4.52. He’s been tagged for 41 runs.

His first start back from a thumb contusion, Teheran pitched six no-hit innings with 11 strikeouts against the Padres. However, the following start against Batimore, he lasted only 4.2 innings while the Orioles hit seven runs off him.

Statistically, Teheran has been good against the Cardinals with the exception to only Matt Carpenter. Marcell Ozuna has hit Teheran around but that was during his time with the Marlins. So how will Teheran perform is up in the air.

Next: Adding To The Future

The Braves take on the Cardinals at 8:15 PM ET. The Cardinals will have Mike Mikolas (8-2) as their starter against Teheran.