Make no mistake...the Braves’ loss against the Orioles on Monday evening was as ugly as the final box score looked. Touki Toussaint was not good, the offense was not good, the defense was not good...it was just overall not a fun time.
when you finally talk to your crush then find out they like someone else pic.twitter.com/FIylB9XccH
— Cut4 (@Cut4) September 15, 2020
To help get over the stink of that game, the Braves are hoping that Huascar Ynoa can put together a much needed good start for them against Thomas Eshelman and the Orioles. Ynoa’s tenure with the Braves has been a bit of a struggle. While he has shown some flashes of ability as a reliever, being a starter has not treated him nearly as well. In his last start against the Nationals towards the beginning of September, Huascar failed to escape the third inning and on the season, he has posted a 6.75 ERA and there are times where it has looked worse than that.
One thing that would help is if Ronald Acuna Jr. could get hot again. Since fouling a ball off of his ankle on Friday, Acuna has recorded just one hit and has looked really out of sync at the plate. While there is a lot of blame to pass around recording the offense’s inconsistency over the last couple of games, getting Ronnie going again would do a lot to guard against that.
For the Orioles, Thomas Eshelman takes the mound against the Braves for the first time in his career. Eshelman’s role on the Oriole has been similar to some of the Braves’ pitchers as he sometimes starts and sometimes comes on as a reliever. His last start came on 9/4 against the Yankees and he, too, failed to escape the third inning as he walked a bunch of batters and gave up four runs, although just two were earned, before he was yanked. His previous starts against the Phillies and Nationals went better, though, so here’s hoping his run of success doesn’t continue against the Braves.
One batter for the Orioles that the Braves are going to have to neutralize is Ryan Mountcastle who has been on a roll for Baltimore. Mountcastle debuted for the Orioles on August 24th and has slashed .364/.425/.610 in 87 plate appearances for the team including going 3-5 with a homer and three RBI against the Braves yesterday.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Tuesday, August 15, 7:35 p.m. EST
Location: Oriole Park at Camden Yards
TV: Fox Sports Southeast
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan, WNNX 100.5, Braves Radio Network