Braves ready to enjoy comforts of home at Suntrust Park
ATLANTA
— After spending more than six weeks in Florida for Spring Training and most of these past two weeks on an 11-day road trip, Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson entered his Atlanta area residence around 3 a.m. ET on Thursday and immediately spent 30 minutes playing with Bentley, the female border collie/pit bull mix he adopted near the end of last season.
“I just love being home,” Swanson said. “It’s as simple as that.”
Home has been an unfamiliar place for most of the Braves, who had a three-day stint in Atlanta between the end of Spring Training and the start of an frustrating 2-6 road trip that concluded with Wednesday night’s 5-4 win over the Marlins. The three-city trip included a two-hour flight delay from New York to snowy Pittsburgh and the lighting delay that interrupted a rare Ender Inciarte power surge during the series finale in Miami.
“We experienced just about everything you can on this trip as far as heartache on the field and blizzards and taking naps on runways,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “This has been one for the ages. It’s going to be really nice to get home.”
After a positive conclusion to a trip marred by mental mistakes, defensive gaffes, ineffective relief appearances and squandered scoring opportunities, Atlanta exited Miami looking forward to the chance to move into its new home at SunTrust Park, which will officially open with Friday night’s matchup against San Diego.
“It will be fun,” Braves catcher Tyler Flowers said. “The city is excited, and of course, we’re excited. I think everybody is anxious to allow everybody to see the new stadium. We’re excited to play in it. There’s nothing really to complain about that we would change or upgrade. We’re definitely fortunate to have that as our home field.”
When the Braves were introduced to their new home during a March 31 exhibition game against the Yankees, they discovered the power alleys and wind patterns could make it a hitter-friendly environment, or at least much friendlier than Turner Field. At the same time, Atlanta’s players immediately found comfort in the spacious home clubhouse, which includes sleeping areas, massage tables, a state-of-the-art weight room, batting cages, a video room, lounges, a made-to-order kitchen and entertainment options, including a pool table.
“It’s like a family atmosphere and fun atmosphere and a spacious atmosphere to where you’re not going to feel like you’re cramped or be in people’s way,” Swanson said. “I’m just looking forward to being there for an extended period of time.”
Positive Inciarte has rare two-homer game MIAMI
— After seeing his early-season struggles continue with a first-inning groundout during Wednesday’s 5-4 win over the Marlins at Marlins Park, Ender Inciarte told some of his Braves’ teammates, “Hey man, I’m locked in.”
Inciarte was simply trying to medicate his psyche with a positive frame of mind, but at the same time, he was also unexpectedly predicting what was going to happen. He spent the next few plate appearances constructing a rare two-homer game and providing the reminder of how much value he provides as both an offensive catalyst and Gold Glove Award performer.
“I ended up having a great day just because I came with the right attitude,” said Inciarte, who entered the finale of an eight-game road trip batting .152 (5-for-33), with a double standing as his lone extra-base hit.
As Inciarte produced a .835 OPS after solidifying the leadoff role over his final 53 games last year, the Braves’ offense proved to be much more productive. Likewise, as he struggled through this season’s first week, Atlanta’s offense lacked the spark it gained when Inciarte began this latest two-homer game with a two-run shot off Tom Koehler in the third inning.
“I know he was just trying to put a good swing on the ball,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “I know he’s been working hard. He was in the cage all afternoon with Seitz [hitting coach Kevin Seitzer] trying to iron some things out. He just got two good pitches to hit and put a good swing on them.”
Inciarte’s only previous multi-homer game occurred on Sept. 27, 2015, and he totaled just three homers in 522 at-bats last year. So, it was certainly surprising when he added to Wednesday’s success by pulling a game-tying solo shot down the rightfield line against Junichi Tazawa in the eighth inning.
“Sometimes, you’re going to have games like this,” Inciarte said. “This is the second time I’ve had a multi-homer game. It feels really good when you can do it. I know I’m not going to do it often, but I try not to be surprised when it happens.”
Inciarte wasn’t happy about losing Dee Gordon’s third-inning double in the lights, but he provided some defensive value in the second inning when he dove to snare a Koehler liner that according to Statcast™ had a 41-percent catch probability and qualified as a four-star catch. On the way to winning his first Gold Glove Award last year, the Braves’ center fielder tied for eighth in the league with eight fourstar catches.
“Any time you can help the team win, it’s always going to feel good,” Inciarte said. “I’ve been grinding it every at-bat and I’ve been working hard in the cage. It’s always going to feel good to have a game like this.”
Roe heads to DL as injuries pile up MIAMI
— As A.J. Minter and Mauricio Cabrera attempt to recover from their respective injuries and make their way toward Atlanta, the Braves altered the current makeup of their bullpen on Wednesday, when they placed Chaz Roe on the 10-day disabled list and recalled Jason Hursh from Triple-A Gwinnett.
Roe struggled throughout a significant portion of Spring Training and seemingly benefited from being out of options when the Braves opted to place him on the Opening Day roster. His struggles have extended into the regular season, and he will now be sidelined until at least April 18 with a right lat strain.
“He was hurting a little bit in Spring Training, and since [his last appearance on Friday], it hasn’t gotten any better,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “So, it’s just better to give him a week and then get him back.”
As Roe has retired just six of 13 batters over three appearances, he has contributed to the disappointing results produced by Braves relievers, who entered Wednesday ranked 11th in the National League with 5.56 bullpen ERA.
The Braves may gain a quick fix from Hursh, a 2013 first-round Draft pick who has thrown 3 2/3 scoreless innings for Triple-A Gwinnett this season. But as the team searches for long-term solutions, it will closely monitor the progress made by Cabrera, who is recovering from a strained right elbow, and Minter, who missed a significant portion of Spring Training with an inflamed nerve near his left elbow.
Cabrera felt good after he was cleared to begin completing bullpen sessions at the Braves’ Spring Training complex on Wednesday. Per Statcast™, the hard- throwing righthander averaged 100.5 mph when throwing his four-seam fastball last year. If he continues to make progress, he could join Atlanta’s bullpen by the beginning of May.
Minter recorded two strikeouts in a perfect inning as he made his season debut for Class A Advanced Florida on Tuesday night. The highly touted lefty reliever will make at least a few appearances in warm weather climate before being promoted to Gwinnett. He produced a 1.30 ERA over 34 1/3 innings while pitching at three different levels last year.
Power surge causes delay MIAMI
— A power surge knocked out some overhead light strips at Marlins Park in the top of the fourth inning, temporarily delaying Wednesday night’s game, which the Braves won, 5-4, over the Marlins.
With Brandon Phillips at the plate, Miami’s Tom Koehler threw a pitch about the time there was a flickering of lights. Phillips grounded out to third base. Both managers had discussions with the umpires, and play was officially halted at 8:14 p.m. ET. Lighting was restored and play resumed after a delay of 27 minutes.
“It just got dark and both teams decided to wait until the lights came on,” Koehler said. “I don’t know if you could play in those conditions anyway. I don’t know if there’s some rules behind it. But as far as impacting the game, all it did was make the game longer. It didn’t really have an effect other than that.”
The Braves had taken a 3-2 lead two batters before the delay, on Freddie Freeman’s home run, and they were hoping to add on.
“I asked [umpire Ted Barrett], ‘ Can [Phillips] get a do-over?’” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s kind of not fair that the lights go out and the guy throws the ball. I guess once the ball is in flight all bets are off. I was just kind of lobbying to let him have another pitch.”