The offense may be starting to awaken for the Atlanta Braves, who host the Boston Red Sox on Sunday in the rubber match of their three-game set.
The Red Sox have gone 1-4 on their current road trip and have lost six of their last seven games. The Braves have won two of their last three but have dropped seven of their last 10. Atlanta leads the season series 3-2.
In a positive sign for Atlanta, the Braves scored nine runs against the Phillies on Thursday and five against the Red Sox on Saturday.
“We’ve got some of the best hitters in the world on our team here,” Atlanta pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach said. “We’ve got a lot of people who can really hit and some opposing pitchers don’t want to face the Braves. And when we get hot, you know, scary things can happen.”
The catalyst has been the return of Ronald Acuna Jr. He has three home runs in eight games since his return from left ACL surgery and is batting .367 with two doubles, six RBIs and six runs scored.
The scheduled starting pitchers for Sunday are Boston left-hander Garrett Crochet (4-4, 2.04 ERA) and Atlanta righty Bryce Elder (2-2, 4.50).
Crochet will be making his 13th start and has allowed two or fewer runs in each of his last six starts, compiling a 2.13 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 38 combined innings. In his most recent appearance on Monday at Milwaukee, Crochet took the loss despite allowing only two runs over 6 2/3 innings and matching his season high with 11 strikeouts.
A problem for Boston has been lack of clutch hitting. Since May 19, the Red Sox are 10-for-85 with runners in scoring position and have left 84 runners on base. Boston twice produced a pair of singles in an inning on Saturday but failed to score and struck out 14 times.
“I think we have a lot of faith in our offense,” Crochet said. “At any given moment, we’re going to break out and the rest of the season we’re going to forget about these first two months. The most important part is that we’re getting in the situations to have success and eventually the ball is going to go our way.”
Crochet faced the Braves on May 16 in Boston and lost the game despite allowing just two runs, seven hits and no walks while striking out eight in a 4-2 defeat. In two career appearances against Atlanta, Crochet is 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA.
Elder is being recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett and will take the place of AJ Smith-Shawver (strained right elbow; on 60-day injured list) in the rotation. Spencer Strider had been scheduled for the finale but will now open the series against Arizona on Tuesday.
Elder has made eight starts but was sent down after his most recent start against Washington on May 14 to make room for Strider. He worked six innings and allowed one run on five hits, one walk and three strikeouts.
“You don’t expect him to be happy about it, but he was a professional about it,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s been through it. He gets it. He’s going to pitch a long time in the major leagues.”
Elder has never faced the Red Sox.
–Field Level Media
