The Atlanta Braves extended their winning streak to three straight games Friday night with a 1-0 win over the Miami Marlins. The game got off to a fiery start when Pablo Lopez hit Ronald Acuña Jr. with the first pitch of the game. After a short delay, the umpiring crew ejected Lopez and Marlins manager Don Mattingly. Acuña would come around to score the only run of the game.
Naturally, emotions were still high following the game as Mattingly sounded off on the decision while also lobbing an accusation at injured Braves starter Mike Soroka. Atlanta is now 40-41 at the halfway mark of the season and trying to keep the pace in the NL East. The Braves have two more games remaining with the Marlins at Truist over the weekend and will close out the first half of the season in Miami next week before heading into the All-Star break. So add another chapter to the Marlins vs. Acuña storyline that clearly isn’t going away anytime soon.
More Braves News
Ronald Acuña Jr. and Fernando Tatis Jr. are in the hunt for something that is more rare than a 40-40 season. They are both trying to become just the fourth player in the modern era to lead the league in homers and stolen bases in the same season.
MLB Trade Rumors
- There were a couple of Braves related questions in Mark Feinsand’s Trade Deadline Mailbag at MLB.com. One question that keeps coming up is why would the Braves wait to fill needs when they need the help now? The answer is that they probably don’t have much of a choice.
About 60% of the league is still in the postseason picture, leaving only a dozen or so teams as potential sellers right now. Of those teams, many are in rebuilding mode and don’t possess the type of players you’re talking about, and the ones that do are going to ask for the moon and the stars to trade them this far in advance of the Deadline.
Although we’ll see some trades over the next four weeks, the lion’s share of deals will take place on July 30, many of them in that final hour prior to the Deadline. That’s how deadlines work; they create urgency and force teams to compromise in order to reach an agreement. Until that final hour arrives, most teams will try to hold out for the best deal they can make.
- Multiple teams are showing interest in Diamondbacks infielder Eduardo Escobar who is having a good season at the plate and is in the final year of his deal.
- Speaking of the Diamondbacks, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that Arizona is telling teams that Ketel Marte won’t be moved at the deadline.
- The New York Mets are in the market for an upgrade at third base and have reportedly had preliminary talks with the Minnesota Twins in regards to Josh Donaldson.
- The Washington Nationals are nearing a deal with the Kansas City Royals for shortstop Alcides Escobar.
More MLB News
- Major League Baseball announced Friday that Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer has been placed on seven-day administrative leave while the league continues to investigate sexual assault claims that were brought forth earlier this week.
- Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber were named MLB’s Players of the Month for June. Schwarber launched 16 home runs in June but was forced to leave Friday’s game early with an apparent leg injury.
- Jacob deGrom and Sean Manaea were named MLB Pitchers of the Month for June. deGrom posted a 0.67 ERA in five starts while Manaea put up a 1.13 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 32 innings.
- Royals catcher Salvador Perez announced on Twitter Friday that he will participate in the Home Run Derby at Coors Field during the All-Star break. He joins Shohei Ohtani, Trey Mancini, Pete Alonso and Trevor Story as confirmed entrants.
- The Mets announced a number of roster moves Friday activating outfielder Brandon Nimmo, reliever Jeurys Familia and catcher Tomas Nido from the injured list. The team also reinstated starter Marcus Stroman from the bereavement list. Lefty David Peterson was placed on the injured list due to discomfort in his right side.
- Veterans Scott Kazmir and Bubba Starling are among 24 players who were announced as part of Team USA that will participate in the Tokyo Olympics.