Iglesias earned the save in Friday's 3-1 win versus Toronto, pitching a scoreless inning with three strikeouts while allowing two hits.
The Atlanta closer's scoreless appearances streak now stands at 21, as he worked around a two-out double by Joey Loperfido in this 15-pitch outing. During the streak, Iglesias has accumulated 31 strikeouts against just three walks across 24.1 innings while securing 10 saves. Overall, the 34-year-old has pitched to a 1.22 ERA, 0.63 WHIP and 61:10 K:BB while going 31-for-34 in save opportunities across 59 innings this season.
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Braves' Max Fried: Stellar in ninth win
Rotowire
Fried (9-8) earned the win in Friday's 3-1 victory over the Blue Jays, allowing one unearned run on five hits and one walk over seven innings. He struck out eight.
After posting a mediocre 4.96 ERA across 32.2 August innings, Fried returned to ace form in this 104-pitch performance, generating an impressive 16 whiffs en route to his eight punchouts. The Atlanta southpaw picked up his 13th quality start, as he's now pitched to a 3.35 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 138:51 K:BB over 147.2 innings this season. Fried currently projects to make his next start against the Nationals on the road next week.
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Braves' Whit Merrifield: Early exit Friday
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Merrifield exited Friday's game against the Blue Jays after fouling a ball off his left foot, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Merrifield returned Friday after missing two games after being hit in the head by a pitch. He suffered more bad luck Friday, but the severity of the new injury is unclear.
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Braves' Ozzie Albies: Struggling to hit lefty
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Manager Brian Snitker said Friday that Albies (wrist) is having some issues with his left-handed swing, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
The switch-hitter is progressing well with his right-handed swing, but batting from the left side is presenting some problems as he rehabs from a fractured left wrist. Albies is hoping to rejoin Atlanta in mid-September, but the swing issues could be a major hurdle if that doesn't improve in the near future.
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Braves' Ramon Laureano: Drops into small-side platoon
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Laureano is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Blue Jays.
The 30-year-old made seven straight starts in late August but is on the bench Friday for the third consecutive game against a right-handed starter. The lefty-hitting Jarred Kelenic will man left field Friday as Laureano appears to have shifted back into the small side of a platoon.
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Braves' Jarred Kelenic: Seeing more action against righties
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Kelenic is starting in left field and batting seventh Friday against the Blue Jays.
The 25-year-old had seen his playing time drop a bit in late August, but he's now making his third straight start against a right-handed pitcher. Kelenic has gone 2-for-7 with a three-run homer in his past two games as he busted out of an 0-for-13 slump.
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Braves' Whit Merrifield: Good to go Friday
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Merrifield (head) is starting at second base and batting second Friday against the Blue Jays.
The 35-year-old sat out the past two games after being struck in the head by a pitch Tuesday, but he's back in action for Friday's series opener versus Toronto. Merrifield has been fairly productive since latching on with Atlanta and has a .248/.359/.349 slash line with a homer and five stolen bases in 33 games.
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Braves' Reynaldo Lopez: Fans season-high 11 batters in loss
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Lopez (8-5) took the loss against the Rockies on Thursday, allowing two runs on five hits over six innings while striking out 11.
Lopez struck out three of the first five batters he faced before giving up a solo homer to Michael Toglia in the second inning. The right-hander would then cruise through the next three frames until he was victimized by the long ball again in the sixth, this time off the bat of Ezequiel Tovar. Lopez would still make it through six innings to log his third consecutive quality start while also posting a season-high 11 strikeouts on the night, though he was ultimately tagged with his first loss since July 22. He's now recorded double-digit strikeouts in two of his last four outings and carries a robust 34:5 K:BB since being activated from the injured list a few weeks back.
D'Arnaud isn't in Atlanta's lineup for Thursday's game against the Rockies.
D'Arnaud has seemingly taken over as Atlanta's primary option behind the plate, but he will take a seat Thursday while Sean Murphy catches for Reynaldo Lopez and bats sixth.
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Braves' Whit Merrifield: Sitting again Thursday
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Merrifield (head) isn't in Atlanta's lineup Thursday against the Rockies.
Merrifield will sit down for the second game in a row after getting hit in the head by a pitch during Tuesday's contest. In his place, Luke Williams will start at the keystone and bat ninth.
Atlanta outrighted Logue to Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday.
Logue was removed from the 40-man roster over the weekend and will remain in the organization after passing through waivers unclaimed. The 28-year-old has spent all of the 2024 season in the minors, holding a 2.58 ERA and 90:28 K:BB over 94.1 innings between Double-A Mississippi and Gwinnett.
Kelenic went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in a 5-2 win over Colorado on Wednesday.
Kelenic capped a big four-run first inning for Atlanta with a three-run blast to right field. The long ball snapped a 23-game homerless stretch for the outfielder during which he batted just .216 and struck out 19 times over 51 at-bats. That poor stretch has been partly responsible for Kelenic losing work to Ramon Laureano -- Wednesday's start was just the second for Kelenic over Atlanta's past eight contests.
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Braves' Raisel Iglesias: Notches save No. 30
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Iglesias earned a save against the Rockies on Wednesday, allowing one walk while striking out two batters in one scoreless inning.
Iglesias had a three-run lead to work with in the ninth frame and had little trouble taking care of business, issuing a harmless two-out walk and retiring the side on 15 pitches. The veteran closer picked up his 30th save of the campaign -- the fifth time he's reached that mark in his career. Iglesias has a shot of reaching his career-high tally of 34 saves, which he posted in both 2019 and 2021.
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Braves' Charlie Morton: Finishes strong for eighth victory
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Morton (8-7) earned the win over Colorado on Wednesday, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out eight batters over five innings.
Morton yielded two hits in a scoreless first inning, then allowed the Rockies to score twice on a walk, a triple and a double in the second. The veteran right-hander pitched much better the rest of the way, surrendering just one hit and two walks while keeping Colorado off the scoreboard across his final three frames. Morton needed 100 pitches to cover five innings and didn't return for the sixth, but he was effective in racking up 13 swinging strikes and eight punchouts. He's allowed three or fewer runs with at least six strikeouts in each of his past five starts but has completed six frames only once during that span.
