Braves take Anaheim series
The Atlanta Braves secured a series win on the road against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim during the early April schedule, a result that’s getting attention on MLB’s official channels. (x.com) Local and national outlets are flagging the series victory as part of Atlanta’s early-season momentum. (x.com)
Atlanta dropped the first game in Anaheim 6-2 on Monday, then turned the series around with a 7-2 win on Tuesday and an 8-2 win on Wednesday to leave Southern California with the series. (mlb.com, espn.com, espn.com) The opener looked like a stumble from one of Atlanta’s steadiest arms. Chris Sale gave up six earned runs on April 6, his highest total since June 1, 2024, while Los Angeles right-hander José Soriano struck out 10 Braves over eight innings. (ajc.com, mlb.com) Then the middle game turned into one of those baseball nights where the box score and the fight card both needed updating. Ozzie Albies hit his third home run of the season, Reynaldo López struck out seven, and Atlanta won 7-2 after a bench-clearing brawl with former Brave Jorge Soler in the fifth inning. (espn.com) That game mattered beyond one win because Atlanta had entered Tuesday on a three-game skid. By the end of the night, the Braves had stopped their slide and snapped the Angels’ three-game winning streak in the same inning. (espn.com) The getaway game on April 8 was cleaner and louder. Matt Olson broke a 2-2 tie with a two-run homer in the third, Grant Holmes worked 6 2/3 innings, and Atlanta pulled away 8-2 while Ronald Acuña Jr. opened the afternoon with a leadoff double. (espn.com) The Braves did not win this series with one superstar carrying everything. In the two victories, Albies homered, Olson homered, Jonah Heim drove in runs in both games, Mauricio Dubón added a two-run double on Wednesday, and nine Atlanta players had at least one hit on Tuesday. (espn.com, espn.com) There is also an early-April pattern here: Atlanta keeps getting production from Drake Baldwin, a 25-year-old catcher who homered again in the series opener. Through April 8, Baldwin was batting.318 with five home runs and 13 runs batted in through 44 at-bats. (mlb.com, espn.com) After the win on April 8, Atlanta sat at 8-5 and in first place in the National League East division. That is still a tiny sample in a 162-game season, but road series wins are how a team keeps a good first week from turning into a forgotten one. (espn.com, mlb.com)
