3/18/18 4:00pm
Ronald Acuna goes 3-5 as the Braves beat the Houston Astros 6-3
Photo: Mark Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
By. Andrew Rodberg
Following both losses of the double-header yesterday, the Braves traveled to West Palm Beach, Fl to take on the Houston Astros in a 1:05 pm contest. In doing so, the Braves sent newly acquired pitcher, Anibal Sanchez to the mound to face the Astros Gerrit Cole.
As the game got underway, neither offense could get anything going as both teams remained stagnant until the top of the 3rd inning. In the 3rd inning the Braves were able to get the speedy Danny Santana on first and Ronald Acuna made them pay with an RBI single to get the Braves on the board. Kurt Suzuki then followed it up with a RBI himself when he crushed a double to the left field wall to score Acuna and give the Braves a 2-0 lead.
In the 4th inning the Braves added on another run after a triple by Dansby Swanson and a sacrifice by Christian Colon gave the Braves a 3-0 lead. Following 3 clean innings by Sanchez, the Braves allowed him to continue in the bottom of the 4th . This is when Sanchez fell into some trouble. Sanchez lost his command and gave up two consecutive singles followed by a double by Alex Bregman that made the game 3-2. The Braves then ended Sanchez’s day and called upon AJ minter to take over the 5th.
Minter vying for a bullpen spot, made the most of his time and struck out 3 of the 4 batters he faced and worked a clean inning. The 6-7th innings were quiet until Kurt Suzuki once again hit an RBI double to give the Braves a 4-2 lead. The Braves lead continued to extend as the offense slowly chipped away at the Astros bullpen. In the 8th inning, (Braves non-roster invitee) Stephen Gaylor hit a triple to right field to score yet 2 more runners and gave the Braves a 6-2 lead. From working 4 clean innings, the Braves bullpen shut down the Astros offense from the 7-9 innings. In the bottom of the 9th, a double gave the Astros another run but ultimately it was too late for the comeback. The Braves win 6-3 and now boast a 11-13 record in ST 2018.
Key Players:
AJ Minter: 1 inning, 1 hit, 3 SO
Kurt Suzuki: 2-4, 2 RBI
Ronald Acuna: 3-5, 1 RBI
Looking Ahead:
The Braves now look ahead to a showdown with the Toronto Blue Jays tomorrow in Orlando, Florida at 1:05pm.
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