Braves In tears As Their Head Coach Lose Out Of Breath At 66…

The Atlanta Braves placed All-Star catcher Sean Murphy on the 10-day injured list on Saturday because of a strained left oblique muscle. Murphy, 29, was injured while swinging and missing on a pitch from Philadelphia reliever Matt Strahm during the seventh inning of the Braves’ 9-3 win over the host Phillies on Opening Day. “We’ll get him checked out (on Saturday) and see what the images say,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said after Friday’s game. “I hate it for him. He had a really nice end to his spring, and he was really feeling good, and it was just one of those freak things that happen in baseball.”

An All-Star in his first season with the Braves in 2023, Murphy batted .251 with 21 home runs and 68 RBIs last season. He was 0-for-3 with one strikeout on Friday. Murphy played four seasons for Oakland Athletics (2019-22) before a December 2022 trade to Atlanta. He is a career .239 hitter with 67 homers and 215 RBIs in 1,472 at-bats over 439 games.

In a corresponding move, Atlanta promoted catcher Chadwick Tromp, 29, from Triple-A Gwinnett to take Murphy’s roster spot and back up Travis d’Arnaud, an All-Star in 2022.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The Atlanta Braves placed All-Star catcher Sean Murphy on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a strained left oblique muscle.

The Braves added catcher Chadwick Tromp to the major league roster. Tromp will serve as Travis d´Arnaud’s backup while Murphy is out. D’Arnaud was batting eighth in Saturday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Murphy was injured Friday on a swing in the seventh inning of Atlanta’s 9-3 win over Philadelphia in the season opener. He was a first-time All-Star last season.

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3 Knee-jerk Reactions to the Braves Season Opener…

Baseball in Atlanta has finally begun. We have been staring out our windows, waiting for spring all winter, and today is the day. What a day it was! It was worth the extra day of wait. The Atlanta Braves gave up two runs in the fifth, only to have Adam Duvall tie back up in the 7th, and the Braves opened it up in the eighth for a big win at Philadelphia. It was a great game to open the season against a team they will be battling all season. Here are three knee-jerk reactions to the first game of the season.

3 Knee-jerk Reactions to the Braves Season Opener

Spencer Strider Is and Will Be The Best Pitcher in the MLB for the Next Decade

Spencer Strider showed up and performed as we expected. He threw five outstanding innings like we knew he would. The Braves ace got a little confident late in the fifth inning and gave up an HR. Strider looked sharp and ready for the season we predicted: 170 innings, 14 SO9, and a sub-three ERA. Cy Young can’t get awarded soon enough.

Strider’s curveball is everything we hoped it could be, although hitters quickly realized it’s such a nasty 12-6 curve that it won’t land in the zone. They started laying off of it by the third inning, but Strider pulled out with eight strikeouts in his first quality start of the season. The bottom line is that Strider’s curve is devastating, and he is better than expected.

Brave May Lose Star Catcher to an Oblique Injury

In the sixth, Sean Murhpy pulled up instantly after a swinging strike, grabbing his left side. He immediately walked off the field. Nothing about this looked good; there is a possibility it’s just a sprained wrist he was clutching, but a 15-day IL stint could be the best-case scenario. Travis d’Arnaud stepped in with a 1-2 count and went down swinging off the first pitch.

Murphy is a top-tell catcher, both behind and at the plate. This is a devastating loss and a big WAR shift in the lineup of .5-1 if he misses extended time.

The Bottom of the Line-up Was Tops

Orlando Arcia, Jarred Kelenic, and Adam Duvall combined for four hits, a run, and two RBI in the eight-nine hole. Constantly coming up clutch, and in the eighth, loaded the bases to get Ronald Acuna Jr. back up to extend the Brave’s lead. It’s a great takeaway that they can hold their own, especially against the Phillies.

Acuna was among the few MLB players with a +1.5 total bases O/U to start their season. Spoiler Alert: he hit the over with two hits, a walk, and a swiped bag. Also, if you haven’t read his recent Players Tribute piece, it’s a tearjerker.

Lastly, it’s still early in the season, just the beginning, but the Phillies look to have bullpen issues that the Braves will exploit in all of their ten upcoming clashes before the season ends. You can give up seven runs in a tie game in the eighth inning to your biggest divisional rival. Unless the Phillies can pull a decent trade deadline move for a few relief arms, it will be a long season in Philidelphia.

Saturday, 4:05 PM, we get game two of 2024, where the Braves will look to take the first series of the new season. Chop on, Braves, Chop on.