The Atlanta Braves are coming off a fantastic home stand that saw them go 5-1 after they finished off a sweep of the Detroit Tigers Wednesday. The only loss in the home stand came in the second career start for rookie Hurston Waldrep, where he went 3 1/3 innings giving up six earned runs, but didn't even take the loss in the game, as the Braves came back and tied the game, only to lose it late.
Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez, and Max Fried all made great starts in the home stand, giving up a combined three earned runs. Spencer Schwellenbach continued to pitch well, and even got his first career win in his start.
But let's face it, they beat up on the Tampa Bay Rays and Detroit Tigers, both of which have a sub .500 record. That's not to take anything away from the great home stand, as for the last month the Braves have not been beating the teams that they need to beat, such as the Nationals.
Championship teams beat up on the teams they are better than, and that is what the Braves are starting to do. Now comes a real test (no offense Rays and Tigers).
The Braves are headed to New York to face, quite possibly, the best two power hitters in the game today in Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. Braves manager Brian Snitker has aligned the rotation so that the Yankees will face Sale, Morton, and Fried respectively. There will be no excuses to be made after this series.