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Atlanta Braves get a laugher win as Gausman goes 8 strong

By Alan Carpenter

ATLANTA, GA - AUGUST 10: Pitcher Kevin Gausman #45 of the Atlanta Braves throws a pitch in the fifth inning during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at SunTrust Park on August 10, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - AUGUST 10: Pitcher Kevin Gausman #45 of the Atlanta Braves throws a pitch in the fifth inning during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at SunTrust Park on August 10, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images) /
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In his first (new) home start for the Braves, Kevin Gausman shows exactly why the front office had been looking to get him from Baltimore.

In scanning through the game logs over this season for the Atlanta Braves‘ newest starter, there truly haven’t been many nights like Kevin Gausman turned in tonight.

On May 5th, Gausman commanded a complete game no-decision effort, going 9 innings without giving up a run on a 2-hitter… but the Orioles didn’t back him up (vs. Oakland).  He also had a no-run game over 6.1 innings on May 22nd at the White Sox.

But those are the only outings better than what he did in shutting down the Milwaukee Brewers tonight… and arguably, tonight’s effort was against a much better lineup.

The line totals included 8 strikeouts, no walks, just 1 earned run and 6 hits over 8 innings.

The newly promoted Chad Sobotka debuted with an uneventful 9th inning, going through his tasks in 1-2-3 fashion with a strikeout… that feat should not be overlooked either.

Strike 1

Gausman seems to get stronger as the game continued… recording 8 ground ball outs while his pitches were breaking well and largely kept down in the zone.

In his after game interview session, Gausman noted that he was pounding the strike zone early on purpose:  this based on advice from the Braves’ analysts.  Sounds like he’s a believer.

So in total, Gausman and the Braves came up with a 10-1 victory for the first night in this long home stand with runs scattered across the box score in bunches.

This win should serve to bolster the confidence of this young team – even though they should realize that their losses in the 4-game split in Washington were in no small part to a pair of starting pitchers getting drilled by line drives.

Certainly, these Braves shook that off tonight as they confidently dismantled a Brew Crew that had – for the most part – done the same to them when these teams met in Miller Park a few weeks ago.

Offense to Spare

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The Braves punched out 13 hits.  None of these were homers, but 6 were doubles.  Nick Markakis and Johan Camargo had 2 apiece, the latter doing this as part of an inspired (his entire family was present) 4 for 5 night with 2 RBI.

Ender Inciarte seized the moment with all of the runners on base in front of him and knocked in 4 runs.  Ronald Acuña Jr had another nice plate night with 3 hits of his own and Freddie Freeman extended his hitting streak to 12 games – the longest current streak in the Nationals League entering the night’s play.

UPDATE: he’s now tied for the longest streak in the majors with Mark Trumbo.

The Braves also accepted eight walks on the night, which continued to fuel rallies.  In fact, it was fairly evident early on that Brewers’ starter Freddy Peralta just didn’t have it this time out.

Options... exercised. dark. Next

But Kevin Gausman did… and the Braves have him for the stretch run… which is looking like a good call already.  10-1 was the final:  Wade Miley matches up with Julio Teheran on Saturday night.

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