SE Atlanta News

Ben Weinrib

ATLANTA -- For much of the season, the Braves’ offense has been quiet out of the gate. Coming into Friday's series opener against Tampa Bay, Atlanta had scored just 29 first-inning runs in 66 games -- tied for 18th in the Majors -- and had just snapped an eight-game stretch with a goose egg in the opening frame the day before.

That changed in a big way in the Braves' 7-3 win over the Rays at Truist Park. The first five batters hit safely and came around to score -- marking a season high in first-inning scoring for the club -- as Atlanta cruised to an easy win to open a six-game homestand.

This was a welcome, if not unexpected, development for the Braves. Just last season, they had one of the most prolific first-inning offenses in MLB history. Yes, Ronald Acuña Jr. is out for the season with a torn ACL, but the rest of the key hitters remain.

“It had that feel again as they started out the game and just [had] some good at-bats,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “Austin [Riley] getting involved is huge for us. ... It's just good to see the guys keeping the line moving. It was really, really nice because we haven't seen that in a while.”

Coming into the game, the Braves were slashing just .242/.317/.389 in the first inning, similar to their overall line of .243/.309/.397 despite all of their top hitters batting atop the order. But on Friday, it was all quality contact.

New leadoff man Michael Harris II smoked a single to left field at 98.9 mph, per Statcast, but exited the game with left hamstring tightness after advancing to third on Ozzie Albies' double (99.3 mph). Both runners scored on Marcell Ozuna's National League-leading 19th home run (101.3 mph) before Matt Olson (89.8 mph) and Riley (108.4 mph) each doubled.

Riley came around to score two batters later when Adam Duvall reached on a throwing error by starter Zack Littell, extending the Braves’ lead to 5-1, which after their 6-3 win over Baltimore on Thursday gave them consecutive games with five or more runs for the first time since April 19-20.

“I feel like that's kind of what we were doing a lot in 2023,” Riley said. “Building off of what we did yesterday to today, it’s obviously a positive to see. You just try to continue to do that.”

Riley was instrumental offensively as he added a two-run homer in the second inning -- making it Atlanta’s highest scoring output through two innings since they scored seven against Philadelphia on May 28, 2023 -- and also singled in his fourth plate appearance.

This performance was crucial considering his recent struggles; since returning from injury late May, Riley was hitting just .161/.212/.194 over his last 16 games.

“We’ve been waiting for him," Snitker said about Riley's resurgence."He's been waiting for it also... He's been working his tail off."

The early lead allowed starter Chris Sale some breathing room after conceding one run in his initial frame. He settled down quickly and pitched seven innings allowing only two more runs while striking out seven batters earning his eleventh career victory against Tampa Bay - breaking ties alongside Justin Verlander among active pitchers versus this opponent.

“For [the offense]to go out there & do that...as starting pitcher gives me confidence throwing strikes," commented Sale appreciating teammates effort putting up early runs easing pressure significantly enabling solid outing overall.

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