Kris Willis / TalkingChop 1 hour ago 
May 23: Braves vs Giants
Kevin Gausman and the Atlanta Braves look to secure a series win Thursday afternoon when they wrap up a four-game series against the San Francisco Giants.
TalkingChop 7 hours ago
Dansby Swanson, Austin Riley power Braves to 9-2 victory over Giants
A pair of three-run homers were more than enough as Max Fried continued to impress The Braves bounced back after letting one slip away on Tuesday night, riding three-run homers from Dansby Swanson and Austin Riley as Max Fried stymied the Giants lineup in a 9-2 victory. Things got weird in the second inning, and the Braves came away with six runs because of it. With one out and a runner on, Ozzie Albies tapped one back to Giants starter Jeff Samardzija. It should’ve been a fairly routine 1-6-3 double play to end the inning. Instead, Samardzija threw wildly between his two middle...
TalkingChop 11 hours ago
Game Thread 5/22/19: Braves vs. Giants
Good evening, all. The Atlanta Braves take on the San Francisco Giants again tonight and fun should be had by all. Be cordial to one another in the comments below and let’s enjoy baseball together. Ready, set, baseball. PREVIEW | LINEUPS
TalkingChop 12 hours ago
Donaldson out, Joyce starts in left for third game of Braves-Giants set
Brian McCann gets a second consecutive start behind the dish. Here’s how the Braves will line up for the third game of this four-game set in San Francisco: .@MaxFried32 takes the mound tonight vs. the Giants!#ChopOn pic.twitter.com/fDhSS3u9TU— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 22, 2019 Austin Riley makes his second start of the year at third base; Matt Joyce makes his third start of the year in left field, and fourth in an outfield spot overall. This is also the sixth time Brian McCann will start back-to-back games this season. By comparison, Tyler Flowers has started consecutive games...
TalkingChop 17 hours ago
Fried, Braves aim to even series with Giants
While many fans of the Atlanta Braves were sleeping, the team blew a multi-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning before losing on Tuesday evening. To be fair, the defeat came in relatively unlucky fashion but, less than 24 hours later, the Braves will again face off with the San Francisco Giants and, this time, the visiting team will have revenge on their minds. Max Fried will take the hill for Atlanta and the 25-year-old left-hander has been lights-out this season. Fried followed up two shaky outings with six innings of shutout baseball in his last start and, all told, he brings a...
TalkingChop 19 hours ago
2019 MLB Draft Preview: First Base
We start our position by position look at the best first base prospects in the 2019 MLB Draft. With the 2019 MLB Draft now less than two weeks out, we thought it was time to start looking at each position and the top players who will be available there in this class. We have started at first base, and will continue with the rest of the infield, including catchers, before moving to the outfield, then left and right handed pitchers in separate pieces. Note that these pieces will not all be equal, as there are just so many more guys at certain positions that deserve to be talked...
TalkingChop 19 hours ago
Freddie Freeman’s superb success against southpaws
As he embarks on the midpoint of his career, Freddie Freeman’s success against left-handed pitching is becoming historic. When Freddie Freeman hit his 200th career home run on May 19th, it was a significant moment for one of the best hitters in baseball. Freeman is off to another incredible start this season, as he is producing a .317/.419/.577 slash line in the first third of 2019. In any other year, this production would make Freeman more of an early season MVP favorite, though he’s not getting as much buzz in this regard this year due to Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich. This...
TalkingChop 22 hours ago
Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap: Three Hits for Travis Demeritte
Travis Demeritte continued to torch Triple-A with three more extra base hits and Bryse Wilson pitched a fine start over seven innings. (26-18) Gwinnett Stripers 1, (24-18) Charlotte Knights 2 Box Score Adam Duvall, LF: 1-4, .265/.356/.623 Alex Jackson, C: 0-4, .218/.315/.500 Travis Demeritte, RF: 3-4, 2 2B, 3B, .324/.396/.640 Bryse Wilson, SP: 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 4.34 ERA A strong start from Bryse Wilson wasn’t enough for the Stripers, as the offense only produced one run on nine hits and lost 2-1. Gwinnett jumped out early into the lead in the second inning thanks to...
Kris Willis / TalkingChop May 22, 2019 
Braves News: Atlanta lets one slip away in San Francisco, Ender Inciarte update and more
Wednesday notes as the Braves’ road trip rolls on. Atlanta Braves News Luke Jackson blows 9th inning lead as Braves fall to Giants, 4-3 The Atlanta Braves carried a 3-1 lead into the ninth inning of Tuesday’s game in San Francisco but the Giants struck for three runs against reliever Luke Jackson to pull out a 4-3 win. Julio Teheran continued his solid stretch allowing one run and lowering his May ERA to 0.86. Ender Inciarte hasn’t resumed baseball activities Brian Snitker provided an update on injured outfielder Ender Inciarte on Tuesday. Inciarte is currently rehabbing what was...
TalkingChop May 22, 2019
Luke Jackson blows 9th inning lead as Braves fall to Giants, 4-3
Julio Teheran pitched well and has a 0.86 ERA in the month of May Luke Jackson was unable to lock down a 3-1 lead in the ninth inning as the Braves fell to the Giants in one of their worst losses of the season, 4-3. Jackson came in and recorded the first out on one pitch. Brandon Crawford would single, but Steven Duggar followed with a strikeout for the second out of the inning. Then came some rotten luck as back-to-back-to-back singles found room as the Giants stunned the Braves. The Braves struck early as Nick Markakis doubled home Dansby Swanson with two outs in the first inning to take...
TalkingChop May 21, 2019
Braves vs. Giants Game Thread: May 21st, 2019
Teheran vs. Fake Thor (Anderson) If things go too crazy tonight, Julio Teheran can hopefully summon the power of Mjolnir, ala Captain America, and do his best Madison Bumgarner impression in his plate appearances tonight. Enjoy the Game and the Interactions below. Please remember to be kind and courteous.
TalkingChop May 21, 2019
Swanson, McCann return to Lineup, Ozzie sits
The Braves hope a day off can get Dansby Swanson going, home same logic works for Ozzie Albies. Here's how the #Braves will line up for Game 2 of this 4 game series #ChopOn pic.twitter.com/306vrXoUFh— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 21, 2019 Ozzie Albies will take a seat tonight in the second game of the four game series against the Giants. After a hot start to the season, both Dansby Swanson and Albies have struggled in the month of May, with a .604 OPS and .582 OPS, respectively. As a result, the Braves may customize their lineups more often. With Austin Riley, Charlie...
TalkingChop May 21, 2019
Julio Teheran looks to Deliver Another May Masterpiece against the Giants
Atlanta’s offense hopes to continue flexing its muscles in San Fran. After being swept by the Dodgers, and with the Diamondbacks, Cardinals, and Brewers looming on the schedule, the Braves did not have a very favorable outlook two weeks ago. The staff, bullpen, and lineup were all struggling, and some type of jolt was certainly needed. That is when Brian Snitker and his staff went with what worked in the past. Ronald Acuna Jr. was put in the lead-off spot on May 10th, and since then, the Braves have gone 8-2 over their past 10 games. The secret to the success is not hard to find. ...
TalkingChop May 21, 2019
Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap 5/20: The Trey Harris Show, Muller’s Double-A domination continues
Kyle Muller was dealing, Cristian Pache and Trey Harris were hitting as the young Braves went 1-2 on the night. The South Atlantic League continued to get destroyed by Trey Harris on Monday. Southern League hitters were once again baffled by the Atlanta Braves former second-round southpaw. And Nolan Kingham struck out an MLB MVP. Let’s take a look at how the action went down. Gwinnett Stripers — Off Probable 5/21 starter: TBD Mississippi Braves 6, Birmingham Barons 1 Box score Cristian Pache, RF: 2-for-5, 2 R, 1 RBI Drew Waters, CF: 0-for-5 Kyle Muller, SP: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8...
TalkingChop May 21, 2019
Braves News: Atlanta acquires bullpen arm
Prior to their series in San Francisco, the Braves acquired a measure of bullpen help in the form of Anthony Swarzak. BRAVES NEWS Braves acquire RHP Anthony Swarzak from Mariners for Arodys Vizcaino and Jesse Biddle The Braves shipped out two relievers, Arodys Vizcaino and Jesse Biddle, to the Seattle Mariners for Anthony Swarzak and cash. The deal is essentially an even swap financially, which is significant given that Vizcaino was due over $4 million for this season, despite being out for the remainder of 2019. Swarzak has struggled to this point, but was among the best relievers in...
Kris Willis / TalkingChop May 21, 2019 
May 21: Braves vs Giants
Julio Teheran and the Braves look for their second straight win against the Giants.
Kris Willis / TalkingChop May 21, 2019 
May 20: Braves 4, Giants 1
Ronald Acuña Jr. and Austin Riley both homered while Mike Soroka turned in another excellent start to help the Atlanta Braves to a 4-1 win over the San Francisco Giants.
TalkingChop May 21, 2019
Mike Soroka masterful once again as Ronald Acuña, Austin Riley power Braves to 4-1 win over Giants
Soroka owns a 1.01 ERA after tossing eight innings of one-run ball on Monday night. He took a perfect game into the sixth inning. Mike Soroka, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Austin Riley did all the heavy lifting on Monday night as the Braves made quick work of the Giants, winning 4-1 at Oracle Park as the Braves begun a seven-game road trip. Soroka was masterful once again, tossing eight innings of one-run ball. He needed just 94 pitches. He was perfect through the first five innings until Brandon Crawford hit a solo homer just over the center field wall on the first pitch of the sixth. Soroka...
TalkingChop May 20, 2019
Braves vs. Giants: May 20, 2019, Game Thread & Discussion
Soroka faces Suarez in San Francisco Coming into this season, we all knew Mike Soroka had the potential to be great. So far in 2019, he’s been even better than advertised. The Braves are in San Francisco for the next four games, and another strong performance from Soroka could set the tone for the whole series. He hasn’t allowed more than one earned run in any of his six starts this season, and thus far the Giants have been one of the weakest offensive teams in the game. This will be the third time in Andrew Suarez’s short career that he will face the Braves. This particular...
TalkingChop May 20, 2019
Dansby gets the night off while Camargo starts at short
The seemingly forgotten super-utility man gets the nod With Brian Snitker’s stated preference to rotate days off throughout the lineup, it’s Dansby Swanson who will sit today, and Johan Camargo will man shortstop in Game 1 of the Braves-Giants series. While facing Giants lefty starter Andrew Suarez, the Braves will utilize the following lineup (courtesy of Baseball Savant): Baseball Savant The pressure will be on him early, as Ronald Acuña stays firmly planted in the leadoff spot. Ozzie Albies moves into the second spot in the lineup - usually Dansby’s home -...
