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ATLANTA BRAVES: 5 takeaways from Wednesday night's win ahead of Thursday's sweep attempt
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves' home stadium in Cobb County, Truist Park, is shown in 2019 with its former name displayed on its scoreboard. — Photo by Josh Horton


ATLANTA — After picking up the first win of 2019 Monday against the Chicago Cubs, the Braves were back in action Wednesday night looking to inch closer to .500 and erase the bad start they got off to in Philadelphia. Behind a solid start from Julio Teheran and some clutch hitting from Johan Camargo, the Braves picked up their second win of the year. Here are five takeaways from the Braves 6-4 win.

Tonight Atlanta will shoot for the sweep against the Cubs, but let’s revisit a few takeaways from last night’s game.


1. Dansby Swanson is set for a breakout year.

After struggling in his first two years in the league, Dansby Swanson has yet to live up to his potential that made him a former No. 1 overall pick. After homering in each of the last two exhibition games, hopes were high for Swanson heading into Opening Day. After hitting an opposite field shot Wednesday for his second home run of the year, he leads the team in RBIs and is now the only Brave to hit his second home run in 2019. Braves fans can be excited about the possibility of what is to come for Swanson in 2019.

2.Ozzie Albies shines in leadoff spot against lefties.

One of the biggest topics of discussion this offseason was the drastic difference between Ozzie Albies’ left vs. right splits. Hitting more than 100 points higher against lefties in 2018, there was a lot to look forward to when seeing Ozzie take on his first lefty of the year in Jon Lester. Albies would respond by going 3-4 and hitting a 369-foot opposite field homer. Manager Brian Snitker has decided to bat him in the leadoff spot against lefties, and Ozzie definitely rewarded that decision Wednesday.

 

3.Julio Teheran continues to be consistent.

Even though he picked up a loss in his first start on Opening Day, Julio Teheran was solid in his first start of the year going five innings and giving up three runs. Teheran would continue to be consistent Wednesday as he tossed five innings of one-run baseball and left his team with a one-run lead. Although he did not pick up the win due to bullpen struggles, Teheran continued to be consistent Wednesday.

4.Injured bullpen continues to struggle.

Speaking of bullpen issues, while the bullpen has improved slightly since the opening series against the Phillies, Braves pitching continued to struggle Wednesday night. After starter Julio Teheran left with a one-run lead, reliever Jonny Venters would come in and give up two runs immediately on a Wilson Contreras 2-run shot while only getting one out. One inning later, reliever Jesse Biddle would give up another run putting the Braves in a tough 4-2 deficit in the late innings. Arodys Vizcaino came in to close the game in dominant fashion, but Wednesday confirmed once again that until reliever A.J. Minter returns, there is not much consistency to the bullpen past Vizcaino.

5.The Braves are willing to put Johan Camargo in the outfield.

Ever since they traded for Adam Duvall last summer, the Braves have continued to find ways to not start Ender Inciarte against left handed pitchers. One of the biggest questions coming into the season was would they consider starting super utility player Johan Camargo in the outfield to solve this problem. Wednesday showed that they are more than willing to do exactly that, as Camargo would start the game in left field and Ender Inciarte would not be in the starting lineup. Camargo responded to the opportunity to start by providing the biggest hit of the night, a game-winning, bases-clearing double in the bottom of the eighth that would give the Braves the lead. 

Atlanta will trot out young lefty Max Fried to the hill tonight for a 7:20 p.m. first pitch as it tries to complete the sweep against the Cubs.