Braves Briefing: Michael Soroka stumbles in Gwinnett

The Atlanta Braves finally get to play baseball again on Monday. After benefitting from a game called short due to weather on Friday, then two cancellations in New York that allowed them to rest their bullpen, they will play a doubleheader against the New York Mets today.

Michael Soroka struggled in the latest start

If you're following the Braves this season, you've probably felt that this team could be a pitcher or two away from a special season. Many believe that Michael Soroka could be that guy for Atlanta.

Soroka's start for the Gwinnett Stripers yesterday did not go well. He pitched 3.0 innings, allowing ten hits, eight runs, and just one strike out. He walked no one, but hit two batters in an eventual 21-9 Buffalo victory.

Soroka's blow-up complicates Atlanta's plans for this weekend. With games every day this week, including a doubleheader today, Atlanta will need a spot starter for Friday's home matchup versus the Orioles (as Strider and Morton would be on short rest for the team's sixth game in five days). Soroka would line up for a start on regular rest, but with this stumble, are they confident in bringing him back for his first start in MLB since August 2020? Dylan Dodd and Jared Shuster have also stumbled in Gwinnett recently, so there might not be an obvious option, but it bears watching.

NL East Standings

It goes without saying but Monday's doubleheader could be a huge day for Atlanta or the New York Mets when it comes to the top spot in the NL East.

Team	Record	GB	Action Today
Atlanta	18-9	-	@ Mets
NYM	15-12	3.0	vs Braves
Miami	16-13	3.0	Off
Philadelphia	15-14	4.0	@ Dodgers
Washington	10-17	8.0	vs Cubs

We wrote it

Braves Today Editor-in-Chief Lindsay Crosby wrote about the Atlanta lineups for the doubleheader.

The Braves will have decisions to make for the roster - MLB rules allow for an additional player to be called up for the day in which you play the doubleheader. Does Atlanta go with an extra reliever and still throw Spencer Strider and Charlie Morton, the scheduled starters? Or, with Strider now being pushed back two days from his originally scheduled Saturday start, does Atlanta skip him in the rotation and bring up someone for a spot start out of Gwinnett?
My inclination is to think that Strider and Morton would be your two arms for the contest, and so a reliever would be the move to make. There's multiple options that Atlanta can take here, though, so we'll be on the lookout.

We learned later last night that Atlanta would still throw Strider and Morton, so the presumptive 27th man would be an extra reliever, with an outside chance it's a 3rd catcher for depth and so that Murphy can catch in one game and DH in the other.

How to watch the Braves doubleheader

The Atlanta Braves will take on the New York Mets in a doubleheader on Monday. The first game will start at 1:10 ET with the second game starting 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first contest. he game broadcast, with Voice of the Braves Brandon Gaudin, is available inside Braves Country on Bally Sports South, and is available on MLB.TV outside of the broadcast area. The radio call, with Ben Ingram, is available locally on 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan or outside the Atlanta market on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network or MLB.com.