For being such a serious sport, baseball is occasionally hilarious. For example - the Braves will face Padres prospect Cal Quantrill tonight as he makes his Major League debut. Cal’s father Paul was a 13-year veteran of the MLB. As Cal takes the mound tonight, he will be pitching for a team whose name literally translates to the San Diego Fathers.
It’s a bit on the nose, but worth noting nonetheless.
Through five starts in AAA, Quantrill was 3-1 with a 4.68 ERA / 4.00 FIP. His 22% strikeout rate is the highest he has carried at any level since 2017, so he could be trending in a good direction for San Diego - and a bad one for Atlanta. When he makes his first pitch, he will do so against a lineup that is without Josh Donaldson or Ronald Acuña, Jr. This does not lessen the pressure on him at all, as he will still have to wade through Ozzie Albies, Freddie Freeman, and a handful of other Braves that just cannot wait to jump all over the youngster.
Quantrill will face off against Braves southpaw extraordinaire Max Fried, who will make his sixth start of the season. He is currently 3-1 with a 2.30 ERA / 3.46 FIP, with escalating strikeout rates after pitching more to contact during the early part of the season. If you’re reading this, you likely already know all about his beautiful curveball, and the fact that Fried looks like a 19th century painting.
Feeling like your knowledge on tonight’s matchup isn’t quite up to snuff? Well, then, by all means, click the following links:
Let’s win this one.
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