The Braves are on an actual winning streak for the first time all season. It’s been a long time coming, folks.
To paraphrase a wise fictional man, three wins in a row “is called a winning streak. It has happened before.” Now, it’s finally happened for the Atlanta Braves, who have returned home and swept the Minnesota Twins out of town. The three-game winning streak is now their longest run of good form all season and also a continuation of what’s been good form at home. The Braves are now 6-2 in their friendly confines in Cobb County and while that’s still not enough to completely bring them out of the hole that their 0-7 start to the season put them into, it’s clear that things are starting to come together for the Braves a bit.
Heading into this series, this seemed like a clear opportunity for the Braves to make something happen considering that the Twins themselves were also struggling. As such, this was a chance that honestly would’ve been disappointing to see Atlanta pass on. As you’ll see below, they took their chances and now they’re on a tiny bit of a roll as the second half of their homestand gets started against the Cardinals tomorrow. Let’s talk about this sweep real quick, though.
Friday, April 18
Braves 6, Twins 4
For seven innings, this was looking like another one of those dreadful games that the Braves and their fans would have to endure once again through what’s been a pretty rough month of April. Chris Paddack improved upon his previous start as he kept the Braves mostly quiet while he was out there, while Bryce Elder was Bryce Elder. As such, the Braves had a lot of work to do in the latter stages of this game as the Twins were rolling out a bullpen that had been impressive up until this point, with the only run at that point of the game having come from a solo homer from Jarred Kelenic.
As it turned out, the Braves came alive in the eighth inning. They got a rally going against Griffin Jax and once Cole Sands came into the game, the Braves proceeded to cash in all their chips. The rally eventually culminated with Drake Baldwin coming in as a pinch-hitter and smacking one right up the middle for a go-ahead RBI single that made it 6-4 in favor of Atlanta. Raisel Iglesias made no mistake with the save opportunity and just like that, the Braves went from having another rough loss to picking up a rare come-from-behind victory.
Saturday, April 19
Braves 4, Twins 3
Chris Sale started this one and this was unfortunately another up-and-down affair. He only gave up two runs but he once again failed to make it through the five innings, as he’s now gone three starts in a row without making it through that particular threshold. Still, he did a decent job of holding the Twins to just those two runs while he was out there, which allowed the Braves to eventually get going against Simeon Woods Richardson.
After scoring a first-run inning thanks to an RBI double from Matt Olson, they took the lead in the third inning with another RBI from Olson. Even though Byron Buxton tried his level best to give everybody a reminder of just how talented he is by keeping this team in the game. Still, the Braves were able to outlast the Twins in this one thanks to two runs in the sixth inning — a game-tying homer from Michael Harris II and a go-ahead knock from Alex Verdugo. Verdugo in particular delivered four hits in this one, which is exactly the type of production that the Braves have needed from the leadoff spot. Long may it continue!
Sunday, April 20
Braves 6, Twins 2
Grant Holmes picked up where he left off in his outing in Toronto, as he wen 5.2 innings in this one while only giving up one earned run against the Twins in this one. This was great for the Braves since the offense came out swinging in this one. Atlanta did all their damage in the first three innings of this one. Matt Olson hit a two-run shot in the first inning, Austin Riley added on with an RBI single and then Drake Baldwin continued his strong run at the plate with a two-run homer that made it 5-0 Atlanta.
Marcell Ozuna added a solo shot to make it 6-1 Braves, with the only run that the Twins scored at that point coming off of a wild pitch. Once Holmes was finished, Atlanta’s bullpen picked up the slack and clamped down on the Twins. Well, they clamped down on them for the most part. Byron Buxton still had to make his presence felt on the field, as he hit homer in the seventh inning off of Enyel De Los Santos . Other than that, the Braves basically cruised in this one and ended up picking up what has to be a confidence-boosting sweep for this crew.
Once again, this is the type of series that is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Braves. Atlanta’s still stuck in the cellar at the moment but they’re starting to play at a level that we’re used to seeing. While the starting rotation is still having trouble getting deep into games, they’re at least making sure that they aren’t getting bombed out there. On top of that, the offense has been hitting on a consistent basis and they’ve especially been making it happen at home so far.
The obvious hope now is that they can keep this going. The St. Louis Cardinals are coming into town now on a down note, as they’ve lost five of their past six and just got done getting swept over four games by the New York Mets. If the Braves can keep up their momentum and extend St. Louis’ misery, then this could be a highly productive homestand for the Braves as they continue their search to get their season fully back on track. For now, this was a fantastic way to take one step in the right direction.