As of June 4, the Atlanta Braves find themselves five games below .500, having dropped seven of their last ten matchups and sitting in fourth place in the NL East. It’s clear things aren’t trending in the right direction for Atlanta, and if there’s ever a time to turn the tide, it’s now. They’ll look to avoid yet another series loss as they face off against the Diamondbacks.
The silver lining for the Braves is that Chris Sale is on the mound tonight — and they couldn’t ask for a better option right now. Sale has been in solid form lately, throwing 20 innings across his last three starts while allowing just two runs on 11 hits and six walks. He’s also struck out 22 batters during that span.
Thanks to that stretch, Sale’s ERA has dropped to 3.06 (75 ERA-) with a 2.98 FIP (78 FIP-). While those numbers still trail his outstanding stats from last season, they’re getting closer, and it’s becoming clear that a healthy Sale remains a reliable force.
He’ll be looking to build off his previous outing against Arizona on April 25, where he gave up just one run over five innings. It wasn’t his sharpest showing, but it kept the Braves in the game — and he’ll hope to do even better this time around.
On the other side, Arizona is hoping Merrill Kelly can bounce back. His last two outings weren’t great — four runs allowed over six innings against the Cardinals, followed by six runs (four earned) over five innings versus the Nationals. That said, he was dominant just before that, tossing seven shutout innings with 11 strikeouts on May 18. Sure, it was against the lowly Rockies, but a strong start is still a strong start — especially when the lineup across from you wears big league uniforms.
Kelly also has recent success against Atlanta on his résumé. In his April 26 start, he held the Braves to two runs over six innings before the game slipped away from the bullpen. Considering how much Atlanta’s offense has struggled this season, Kelly could very well pose a challenge again.
The Braves are hoping to replicate the success that the Cards and Nats had against him recently — and maybe Austin Riley can help lead the charge. Riley has had some success against Kelly (4-for-12 with a homer and two doubles), though he’s also struck out four times, making it a classic boom-or-bust matchup.
Coming off a flat and frustrating performance, the Braves are once again fighting to claw back to .500 — a mark they briefly reached before sliding again. There’s work to be done, and it starts with hoping their ace can outduel a D-backs team that’s also desperate to climb out of their own early-season hole.
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