The visiting Atlanta Braves can begin the season with three straight series wins for the first time since 2018 when they face the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday afternoon in Phoenix.
Atlanta took two of three from both the Kansas City Royals and the Athletics and will finish a four-game set on Sunday. The Braves outscored Arizona 19-2 across their first two wins of the series before falling 2-1 on Saturday.
First-year manager Walt Weiss is far from worried about superstar Ronald Acuna Jr., but a .161 batting average through nine games has been an unwanted surprise.
“His swing looks kind of late,” Weiss said. “But they all go through ruts. We’ve seen all these guys go through ruts before. When he gets rolling, it’s going to be fun to watch. But he seems kind of late to me, right now.”
Atlanta’s pitching staff has allowed just three earned runs across the last four games and will turn to veteran Martin Perez (0-0, 0.00 ERA) in the series finale.
Perez, 35, threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings in relief on Tuesday against the A’s. After signing a minor league contract with the club in January, Perez had his contract selected as a dependable left-handed arm who can be plugged into the starting rotation.
“(Perez) is just a crafty veteran,” Weiss said. “He knows how to pitch. He’s a salty veteran. He’s been a good pitcher in this league for a long time. He threw the ball really well for us in that relief appearance last time out, so I expect him to be good again.”
Perez is slated to make the 280th start of his career and fourth against Arizona. He’s 0-2 with a 6.43 ERA in three appearances against the Diamondbacks.
Arizona, meanwhile, can stamp a successful first homestand of the season. The Diamondbacks swept the Detroit Tigers and have bounced back from a 17-2 Thursday loss to Atlanta with a pair of competitive outings.
Still, offense has been an issue for manager Torey Lovullo’s club. Albeit a small sample size, Arizona is batting just .204 and has failed to score more than two runs in any of the last four games. For Lovullo, an emphasis needs to be placed on honing in on pitches around the plate.
“If we zone in, try not to do too much, wait for our pitch, it’s the art of hitting and the beauty of baseball. When you do it, it’s sweet music,” Lovullo said. “When you chase, you get yourself into bad counts.”
Both of Arizona’s runs were unearned on Saturday. Rookie Jose Fernandez has been a bright spot, batting .333 with two home runs for the Diamondbacks.
On the mound Sunday, Brandon Pfaadt (0-0, 7.50 ERA) will look to bounce back after allowing five runs across six innings in a no-decision against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday. The Diamondbacks won 7-5. Pfaadt, 27, is 2-0 with a 5.66 ERA in four career starts against the Braves.
–Field Level Media
–Field Level Media
