Mike Foltynewicz and Atlanta Braves get hammered by Rays
By James Kunkle
It started off OK for the Atlanta Braves, but Monday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays certainly did not end that way.
The Atlanta Braves got a taste of their own medicine that they prescribed to the New York Mets Sunday evening as the Rays smashed the Braves 14-5.
Hunter Renfroe was the main culprit as he launched two bombs and drove in 4 runs for the game.
The game started off fairly decent as Dansby Swanson put the Atlanta Braves on top in the second with a home run in his second straight game. More on that in a little bit though.
However, things then went south for Atlanta Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz after that. He gave up a tying home run in the third and then one of Renfroe’s bombs followed by Joey Wendle’s solo shot gave the Rays a 5-1 lead, which obviously only grew from there.
The biggest news of the night of course followed the game as it was brought to attention that this would be the last Atlanta Braves start for Mike Foltynewicz as he was designated for assignment almost as soon as the last out was made in the game.
Obviously we here at Tomahawk Take will be all over that news for the next few days so let’s for now just simply recap this ugly game.
1. All Starting pitchers need to step up
Yes, Mike Foltynewicz last two games with the Atlanta Braves will be remembered for all the wrong reasons, but for the 2020 season, every single Atlanta Braves starter needs to pick it up.
The last thing we need right now is for Mike Soroka and Max Fried to be the only two reliable pitchers this team has. Sean Newcomb’s start Sunday was anything but pretty even though the job did get done.
Speaking of Newcomb, his leash and mind must be a little tighter after seeing the news about Folty. It appears obvious that the Atlanta Braves and the organization’s front office will not be playing games this season. Players like Jhoulys Chacin, Touki Toussaint, and even Tyler Matzek might see their roles heavily increase here over the next few weeks.
What stings even worse now is the Cole Hamels injury and Felix Hernandez opt-out. Both pitchers could be heavily relied upon right now. Kyle Wright it seems has been handed the keys to a brand new car and should take advantage and cement his spot in this rotation.
Ian Anderson might not be long for the inter-squad scrimmages at this point.