It's been a nice West Coast trip for the Atlanta Braves as the team defeated the Los Angeles Angels 11-3 at Angel Stadium on Saturday evening. The win evens the series for the Braves and moves them to 65-58 on the season.
Here is what you need to know from Saturday's contest
Sale Continues to Shine
Just when you think Chris Sale can't strengthen his case anymore to become the NL Cy Young Award winner at the end of the season, he finds a way.
On Saturday night, Sale went six innings allowing only two runs on six hits, and recorded ten strikeouts on the night. He finished with 17 whiffs and an outrageous 41% CSW on the evening. The big night of swings and misses put him as front runner for the most strikeouts in all the majors with 187 on the season. With his season 2.62 ERA (second best in MLB) an even 1.00 WHIP and the MLB lead for all starting pitchers in fWAR, it's hard to think of anyone else who will come close to him for the award.
Offense Explodes
The Braves went off on Saturday night and recorded 11 runs at Angel Stadium. It is the third time this road trip, once in each stop, Colorado, San Fransisco, and Los Angeles (Anaheim) that the team scored double digits in a contest.
Atlanta picked up three homers in the game including a three run shot by Marcell Ozuna in the first inning to open the scoring up early on Angels pitcher Griffin Canning . The Braves recorded three hits before the Angels were able to record an out. Quite the way to set the tone. The other two home runs were hit by Whit Merrifield and Ramon Laureano .
The home runs are finally starting to pick up for this Braves team after having a questionable start to the season. In the team's first 61 games, the Braves only recorded 63 homers. Fast forward to the last 62 games of the season, including tonight and the team has 99 home runs. Although the offense isn't clicking as well as most would hope, it's definitely trending in the right direction.
Let's Hope they remember to pack the hot bats and mark them as fragile when they get on the plane to head back to Atlanta.
Harris Returning is a Huge Boost
Since the return of Michael Harris II in the last series the Braves offense has surged. Is it a coincidence? Maybe, or Maybe not. But his grand slam in San Fransisco didn't hurt.
He continued his impressive performance with the bat since coming off the injured list on Saturday night going 3 for 5 with a double, two runs scored, and an RBI. He had the hardest exit velocity of the night among any batter on Saturday (including the home runs) as he hit a ball over 114 MPH.
For the third straight game he led off for the team, and it seems to be a good fit for him moving forward. Harris was very successful last season acting as a "second leadoff hitter" batting out of the ninth spot, so it naturally makes sense to have him fill the hole for the injured Ronald Acuna Jr.
What's Next
The Braves will finish the road trip as they will play the rubber match at Angel Stadium on Sunday. The first pitch is scheduled for 4:07 PM EST. Charlie Morton is scheduled to take the mound for Atlanta.
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