Takeaways From Braves Series Win vs Red Sox at Fenway Park

The Atlanta Braves head to Cincinnati with the win in their sails, winning another series against their designated interleague rival, the Boston Red Sox.

With the annual interleague series in the rearview mirror, it's time for some takeaways from the trio of games played at Fenway Park. Here are five throughts from Fenway Park to chew on as they head to the midwest for another road series.

They Can Still Bounce Back From Losses in a Big Way

Let alone is this a team that doesn't lose a series very often; this team doesn't lose consecutive games often either. The previous series against the Nationals was one of those rare examples. They take pride in their ability to answer back, but there was an off day when they couldn't.

Since they dropped back-to-back games over the weekend, they've resumed those big offensive responses. On Tuesday, they put up seven runs in response to being held to one run on Sunday. The game still required holding off Boston at the end, but the solid offensive showing made it doable.

Thursday afternoon, they put up 10 in response to being shut out by the Red Sox the night before. After the game was tied 2-2, they pulled away with eight unanswered runs. It completely canceled out the run differential from the night before.

Elder Was Going to Have an Off-Night Eventually

No, the Bryce Elder that struggles isn't back. A starting pitcher, no matter how good, is going to have a bad game at some point during a season. It's not like anyone backed him up. The Braves got shutout on offense, and Carlos Carrasco allowed another pair of runs in a mop-up role.

If he has another rough day against the Blue Jays next week - that's when he's presumed to pitch next- we'll talk. For now, he still walks away from that start with a 2.50 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. If most were told before the season started that he would have those stat lines after 12 starts, they would have taken it.

Acuña's Big-Game Play is Still in There

The first few games of May, on both of ends of his injury, showed promise that a strong stretch from Ronald Acuña Jr. could be coming. It wasn't sustained. Heading into Thursday, he was 1-for-19 with four walks and an RBI over his last five games.

He showed in the latest win that the big swing is still in there, looming. He put a ball over the Green Monster in left field for a grand slam. His third home run of the season went 417 feet and came off the bat at 107.9 mph. In total, he reached base three times on the day and stole two bases for good measure.

It was a big game that we hadn't seen from him in some time. It's been dormant, but days like the one he had on Thursday show that he can still erupt. Maybe a home run and some stolen bases were what he needed to snap out of his cold spell.

Have a Series, Michael Harris II

The confines of Fenway Park were just fine for centerfielder Michael Harris II. He went 6-for-13 with two home runs, four RBIs and four runs scored. They wouldn't have won this series without him.

His four-hit game on Tuesday night made the difference in a one-run ballgame. Just last season, they watched a sure win slip away in the late inning at Fenway. Not this time. They score enough runs to hang on.

Harris was the go-ahead run on Mike Yastrzemski's bases-loaded walk on Thursday. He was in the right place at the right time to help get rallies going.

Heading to Cincinnati, he's batting .301 with an .860 OPS, a 144 OPS+, 13 home runs and 33 RBIs. The massive pre-All-Star Break turnaround continues.

Even One of Sale's Worst Starts This Season Was a Good One

It wasn't the typical day that most are used to seeing from Chris Sale in a Braves uniform. But apart from one inning that caused some trouble, he had a solid day.

He gave up runs on back-to-back at-bats in the top of the fourth, and that was it. He still gave the Braves five. He struck out eight. The Red Sox left seven runners on base when Sale was on the mound.

The ace of the staff kept the team in the game long enough for the big inning to come along and put the game away.

Add us as a preferred source on Google