Braves vs Marlins Preview: Atlanta turns to JR Ritchie for game 1 in Miami
(*1*)The Braves had a stable 4-2 homestand, profitable each sequence and can now take a fast 4-game street journey to Miami earlier than returning house. This could be a pleasant time to get grasping and take 3 or 4 from this sequence towards the offensively challenged Marlins.
(*1*)For game 1 at this time, they’ll ship JR Ritchie to the mound, going through Max Meyer from the Marlins. JR has gotten fairly fortunate to haven’t been crushed thus far this season, as he is struggled with walks. He has been a bit caught up with the Braves’ bullpen depth situation and been left in too lengthy just a few instances. He hasn’t actually performed a lot impressively on the entire over his 4 begins, though he has performed decently to forestall exhausting contact. For Ritchie to be viable long term, the strikeouts could have to enhance and the walks could have to dramatically lower. He has a sub-par offense to take care of at this time, so hopefully he can construct on an honest 4.1 inning outing final outing and provides the Braves a stable begin with some size.
(*1*)Max Meyer on the opposite aspect is a former #3 total decide from 2020, however has but to make a whole lot of that expertise on the main league degree, posting three replacement-level seasons earlier than having the start of what could also be a breakout this 12 months. Meyer has additionally struggled to stay wholesome, however that should not imply something to us at this time. Meyer has made issues work with a 78th percentile Ok% and a fifty fifth percentile BB%, regardless of considerably beneath common contact metrics. He has a mid-90s fastball that’s diminished by poor extension, however pitches primarily off of his slider and sweeper, which have been devastating this season. He’ll additionally combine in a changeup and sinker to fill out his 5 pitch combine. The sweeper has been a significant improvement for him this season, solely actually introducing it final 12 months and seeing a giant leap in effectiveness this 12 months. Braves hitters would do properly to reap the benefits of his fastballs when he throws them, as a result of these breaking balls aren’t any joke. His sweeper in explicit is thrown fairly exhausting and is a bit slurvy, however has spectacular motion, whereas his exhausting slider is a reasonably flat pitch, however an efficient one.
(*1*)Game Date/Time: Monday, May 18, 6:40 pm EDT
(*1*)Location: loanDepot Park, Miami, FL
(*1*)TV: BravesImaginative and prescient, Gray TV
(*1*)Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan