Braves Briefing: Sean Murphy is among the elite

Sean Murphy hasn't been in Atlanta long but he has found his home.

The All-Star catcher has been nothing short of spectacular for the Braves and the stats are starting to pile up to put his name next to the greats.

After his home run last night, according to Mark Bowman on Twitter - Sean Murphy stands with Javy Lopez (1999 and 2003) as the only Braves catchers to tally 15+ HR and 50+ RBIs through the team's first 86 games.

Murphy continues to be a force in the Atlanta lineup and doesn't seem to be slowing down.

NL East Standings

Team	Record	GB	Action Today
Atlanta	58-28	-	Off
Miami	51-37	8.0	Hosts STL
Philadelphia	46-39	11.5	@ Tampa Bay
NYM	40-46	18.0	@ Arizona
Washington	34-52	24.0	Hosts Cincinnati

We wrote it

Will Moon led the coverage for Braves Today yesterday. Among his takeaways, he highlighted another quick start for the Braves.

The Braves have been a dominant team all around in 2023, but that dominance has been absolute in the first inning. The Braves have averaged more than a run per game (1.02 to be exact) in the first inning this season. That number is 0.23 runs higher than the second-place Dodgers (0.79), which is a bigger gap than stands between Dodgers and the 13th-placed Angels (0.57). Nobody can touch the Braves when it comes to the opening frame, and all these numbers don't even include the four-spot the Bravos dropped on Cleveland Wednesday evening.
The Braves didn't use the long ball to score those four runs, which is a mild upset. Instead, they tortured struggling Guardians starter Cal Quantrill with four straight seeing-eye singles to plate the first two runs. Eddie Rosario then laced a double into the left-center gap to bring the run total to four, and the visitors were off to the races.

Check out all the takeaways here.

What's next for the Atlanta Braves

The Braves are off today, and then one of the most anticipated series of the year kicks off on Friday when Atlanta, with the best record in baseball, travels to St. Petersburg to take on the Tampa Bay Rays, owners of the American League's best record. Former Ray Charlie Morton (8-6, 3.57 ERA, 3.76 FIP) gets the ball for the Braves, while Tampa counters with Tyler Glasnow (2-2, 4.50 ERA, 3.68 FIP), a supremely talented right-hander who's still trying to fully regain his pre-Tommy John surgery form.

First pitch from the Trop is set for 6:40 Eastern. The game broadcast for Friday is available nationally on AppleTV+. 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.

Check out Braves Today on Socials!
Follow Braves Today on Twitter!
Like Braves Today on Facebook!
Check out the homepage for more Atlanta Braves News!
Subscribe to Braves Today on YouTube!
Get Exclusive Braves Merchandise from FOCO