In his Major League debut, Touki Toussaint, who was called up to be the 26th man on the Braves’ roster for the first game of Monday’s doubleheader with the Marlins, pitched 6 strong innings as Atlanta cruised to a 9-1 win in game 1.
After Toussaint retired his first 3 batters faced, Ronald Acuna Jr. got the Braves offense rolling with a leadoff homer, his 16th on the season.
šŖ Ronnie Baseball šŖ pic.twitter.com/nNo7NcDt2g
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 13, 2018
Toussaint, a former first-round pick by the Diamondbacks in 2014, got himself in the most trouble of the day in the 2nd inning, after walking Derek Dietrich and giving up a single to J.T. Riddle, Issac Galloway evened the game at 1-all with an RBI double. With runners on 2nd and 3rd and 0 outs, Toussaint was able to get a short fly ball for out number 1, before striking out the next two batters to get out of the jam.
Can't spell Touki without K š#ToukiTime | #ChopOn pic.twitter.com/J6PHKLZ7lA
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 13, 2018
The Braves offense took control from there, with Nick Markakis and Johan Camargo delivering back-to-back doubles, putting the Braves ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the 4th inning. A 5-run 6th inning began with Camargo once again doubling, before Kurt Suzuki was hit by a pitch and Charlie Culberson drove Camargo in on a double of his own.
More: Braves Offense En Fuego, A Look At The Stats
Acuna then recorded his second hit of the day, when his double to left center scored Suzuki and Culberson. Ozzie Albies then followed with a 2 run single back up the middle, giving the Braves an 8-1 lead.
Touki allowed just 2 hits to go along with the 1 earned run, while striking out 4 batters and walking just 2. He threw 52 strikes on just 82 pitches and ended the game with a 1.50 ERA.
Here’s Manager Brian Snitker on the win and the future of Toussaint in the rotation:
#Braves manager Brian Snitker breaks down Touki Toussaint's first start at the big-league level: pic.twitter.com/rtSmmyGiu0
— FOX Sports: Braves (@FOXSportsBraves) August 13, 2018
Jesse Biddle allowed two runners to reach base in the 7th, but a double play quickly got him out of the inning. Chad Sobotka threw the final 2 frames for Atlanta, striking out 3 and walking 3 batters, but avoided giving up any hits or runs to close game 1 out. Sobotka also picked up his first Big League hit in the bottom of the 8th.
The Braves (65-51) now move into sole possession of first place in the NL East, with a chance to go up a full game on Philadelphia in game 2 of the doubleheader, as the Phillies are idle today.
More: Tribe Report: What To Do About Jason Kipnis?
Acuna went 2-for-3 with 2 walks, a stolen base, and 3 runs scored to lead the Atlanta offense, while Freddie Freeman saw his 14-game hitting streak come to an end. Albies went 2-5 and added 2 additional RBI’s, while Camargo finished with 2 hits and Suzuki scored twice.
All-Star Mike Foltynewicz (9-7) will go against Merandy Gonzalez, who his making his first career Major League start for the Marlins, who basically have a Minor League roster at this point in the season.
Game 2 Recap here: Folty throws a dandy, Acuna can’t stop hitting homers
Check out more content from The Barn here, and follow us on Twitter @The_BarnBurnerĀ and @BarnBurnerSlim. Holler.
(Image belongs to Atlanta Braves, via Twitter)
One comment