Braves Briefing: Atlanta has historic moment in a brutal loss

In Tuesday's series opener at Fenway Park, the Braves had a remarkable moment during a 7-1 loss against the Red Sox. They executed a rare triple play, which is the first one seen in the Majors this season for the Braves and the first for the team since a game against San Diego on May 6, 2004.

During the play, with men on first and second in the bottom of the third inning, Braves outfielder Michael Harris made an impressive catch on a fly-out from Triston Casas. Although the hit seemed well struck off the bat, it only registered a 76-mph exit velocity, as measured by Statcast.

After the catch, Harris quickly threw the ball to Matt Olson at first base. Adam Duvall misread Casas' swing, leaving him stranded between first and second and resulting in his out at first base. Seizing the opportunity and being aware of what was happening on the other side of the diamond, Olson made a swift throw to Austin Riley, who expertly tagged out Masataka Yoshida at third base, completing the triple play. Notably, this was the first triple play Boston has encountered since May 2, 2017, when playing against Baltimore.

TRIPLE PLAY!#ForTheA pic.twitter.com/HNDjdv9Asc
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 26, 2023

NL East Standings

Team	Team	GB	Action Today
Atlanta	64-35	-	@ Boston
Philadelphia	54-47	11.0	Hosts Baltimore
Miami	54-48	11.5	@ Tampa Bay
NYM	47-53	17.5	@ NYY
Washington	42-59	23.0	Hosts Colorado

We wrote it

In WIll Moon's takeaways from the action, he highlighted how Atlanta has not been great against the American League.

With the loss, the Braves fall to 21-18 against the American League. That's nothing to be ashamed of, but certainly it's a less impressive mark than their record against the NL (43-17). Note that Atlanta has lost more games to AL opposition this season than to NL foes. They've also been swept twice by AL clubs (Houston and Toronto), something no NL team has managed.
This probably isn't enough data to really draw any meaningful conclusions from, but it stands out just a little. Obviously the AL East is excellent this year, with all five teams over .500 and contending for playoff spots. (Quietly Baltimore has surged into first place ahead of the fading Rays, with the Orioles owners of the AL's best record.) But the Braves will have a shot to get one back tomorrow night as they conclude their business with the Red Sox for the season. And the good news, if you buy into these stats, is that the Braves only have two more interleague series after this (against the Angels and the Yankees, both at home). So there's that.

Here's all of Moon's takeaways.

How to watch the Atlanta Braves

The same two teams play again tonight at Fenway. Spencer Strider gets the ball for Atlanta (11-3, 3.78 ERA, 2.88 FIP), while Boston counters with righty Brayan Bello (7-6, 3.60 ERA, 4.36 FIP). For what it's worth, Bello pitched against the Braves earlier this season and got the win. Boston has never faced Strider before.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 Eastern, and the game is set to be televised nationally on ESPN. 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.

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