Six pitchers combined to shut out the Chicago Cubs for the Atlanta Braves on Thursday in the final game of the NL matchup. The 3-0 win gives Atlanta their league-best eighth shutout of the season. A Jarred Kelenic solo home run and a pair of eighth inning insurance runs proved to be the only offense needed for the Braves to keep pace with the scorching Philadelphia Phillies.
Despite a strong outing from rookie Ben Brown, the Chicago Cubs bullpen couldn’t hold down the Atlanta Braves lineup. Even with an injured Austin Riley and a hitless Marcell Ozuna, the Braves pushed three runs across on Cubs relievers in just over five innings of work. That was enough to give the Cubs the loss and a series defeat at the hand of the NL East powerhouse. This is the ninth game in the last ten outings that the Cubs have failed to score more than four runs.
Young Hurlers Open Strong
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In the series rubber match on Thursday afternoon, a pair of young right-handers took the bump for the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves.
For Chicago, Ben Brown made his fifth start of the year. The rookie has been in and out of the bullpen so far in 2024 so it was unknown how long his leash was going to be in this one. He ended up tossing four scoreless innings and keeping the Atlanta offense at bay. In his outing, he allowed just one hit, walked two and struck out six on 66 pitches. The scoreless tie wouldn’t be broken until he handed the ball over to the Cubs bullpen.
For Atlanta, AJ Smith-Shawver toed the rubber. The 21-year-old was making his first appearance of the season and it will be his only outing for some time. After the game, he was placed on the 15-day IL with an oblique injury. In his season debut he scattered five baserunners across 4 1/3 innings, striking out four and throwing 87 pitches. Smith-Shawver would turn the game over to five bullpen arms to complete the shutout.
Atlanta Braves Slugger Homers to Break the Tie
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Once Ben Brown left the game for the Chicago Cubs, Hayden Wesneski came in to try and keep the scoreless tie intact. That hope didn’t last long, as the first hitter he faced was Jarred Kelenic. Kelenic launched a 92 MPH fastball over the right-center field wall and gave Atlanta a 1-0 lead.
Wesneski would settle down and record five outs before being taken out of the game, but that one swing of the bat gave Wesneski his third loss of the season. Replacing Wesneski was Luke Little, who has been sharp in his latest stint with the major league club. Little finished the sixth for Wesneski and worked a scoreless seventh before giving the ball to Kyle Hendricks, who was making his first bullpen appearance in nearly a decade.
Hendricks endured a lot of traffic in his two-inning appearance. The struggling veteran was moved to the bullpen in an effort to rejuvenate his confidence and rhythm, but Thursday was not a step in the right direction. He allowed the first two batters he faced to reach, and the 1-0 lead was looking precarious.
After retiring, Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies jumped on a 0-0 sinker and singled to bring in the second run of the game. Marcell Ozuna did not extend his hitting streak, ending it at 15 games, but came feet away from belting a three-run home run that turned into a long sacrifice fly to bring the score to 3-0.
Full Bullpen Effort for the Atlanta Braves
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With AJ Smith-Shawver out of the game, the Atlanta Braves bullpen had 4 2/3 innings to cover. It would take five different pitchers to get to the finish line and a series victory. To finish the fifth, Brian Snitker went to Dylan Lee, who retired the first two hitters he saw and stranded the would-be tying run. Lee came out again for the sixth inning and struck out Cody Bellinger before being replaced by Pierce Johnson.
Johnson ran into some trouble after getting the second out of the inning. Ian Happ doubled to get the tying run into scoring position, and Johnson then walked Nico Hoerner to get the go-ahead run on base. The struggling Michael Busch came up to the plate for the Chicago Cubs, but his woes continued during this at-bat, striking out on three breaking balls to end the threat.
From the seventh inning through the final out, the Atlanta bullpen shut down the Cubs. Joe Jimenez, AJ Minter, and Raisel Iglesias each worked perfect frames, and the Braves secured the series win at Wrigley and a season series win over the Chicago Cubs. The Braves now move on to Pittsburgh, where they will play the Pirates, and the Cubs visit St. Louis, where they will be playing their rivals for the first time this season.
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