Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread
The NL East leading Braves fresh off of a series win in Washington that put them up 5.5 games landed in Pittsburgh, but the offense seemed to suffer some jet lag. The Braves took 2 of 3 against the struggling Pirates, but it took some late game heroics by some unexpected name. The Braves took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning after Acuna walked, Albies singled, then Freeman and Brantley drove them in with a sav fly and ground out. 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 runs. That was all the Braves had on offense for nearly the rest of the game. The Pirates would go on to tie the game over the next few innings, then take a 5-2 lead. The Braves meanwhile had 2 hits, both singles by Albies. The 9th inning was up and the Braves didn't even have anyone warming up. They had basically thrown in the white towel and were conceding game 1. They even let Sean Newcomb, who had come in for long relief, bat for himself in the 7th. They were going to let him be the pitcher for the rest of the game and save the bullpen for games 2 and 3.
The offense had different plans in the top of the 9th. After Ozuna and Camargo found their way on base, Dansby Swanson decided to drive one right past the LF foul poul to tie the game up at 5. The Braves had 4 hits, yet they were tied 5-5. They'd go down quietly after tying it up, but there was new life and Will Smith had come in to throw a shutdown bottom of the 9th. He did just that. He did it again in the 10th after the Braves offense had another easy 1-2-3 inning. However, in the 11th we had another unlikely hero step up. Duvall came in as a pinch hitter for Smith and he hit a 2 run blast. Ozuna had a blast of his own in the top of the 11th and the Braves were all of a sudden up 8-5 with 7 hits when just 3 innings ago their offense didn't look like it had found the ballpark. The Braves would go on to hold off the Pirates and steal game 1 away.
Game 2 was not nearly as dramatic as the Braves cruised to a 11-5 win. Then in game 3 the Braves offense went missing again as they lost 2-3. The offense only managed 6 hits, but they had won the series on the road, plus they won capped off the road trip taking both series after dropping the first game of each one.
The Mets would come into Atlanta next and the Braves offense decided to not only show up, but to steal the show. The Braves put up 11 runs on 15 hits. Freeman hit 2 HR's, drove in 4, and the Braves cruised to another easy win, 11-8. The final looked closer because the Braves let 3 runs in in the top of the 9th because they let Grant Dayton throw his 3rd inning to save some arms.
The Braves would drop game two 5-7, but they bounced back to take game 3 and the series with a final of 7-6. They got the next day off, then the Phillies came into town.
In game 1 of the series we saw a pitcher's duel for the first 5 innings with a score of 1-1. The Braves then took a 3-1 lead in the 6th. The Phillies would go on to take a 4-3 lead in the 7th. The Braves responded immediately making it 5-4. Then in inning 8 they made it 9-4 which was the final. It was basically a tale of two halves baseball edition.
Game 2 of the series saw the offense disappear again as the Braves lost 1-6. Game 3 saw both offenses score a little, but not much, but the Braves won 4-3 and won yet another series, their 6th straight series win.
The Braves got a rest day then headed to Milwaukee to face a Brewers team fighting for the final wildcard spot. Let's just say game 1 saw an interesting 1st inning. Brandon Woodruff got the start. He had been having a great year so far with an ERA just over 3. He had a 3-pitch AB with Acuna to start the game off before Acuna barely got a ball over the fence in right field on a curve ball that was slightly too elevated. It was a wall scraper, but it was 1-0 nonetheless. Woodruff would then seem to let that HR affect him, plus was getting squeezed by the umpir quite a bit, and he ended up allowing only 3 more hits in the inning, but he also walked 4 and the Braves were up 8-0 in the blink of an eye on only 5 hits. Woodruff went 2/3 of an inning, allowing 8 ER, giving up 4 hits, throwing 4 walks, and getting 1 strikeout. That top of the 1st was pretty much all of the action the game would have as well. Henderson Alvarez threw 8 shutout innings, the Braves scored 2 more runs as the game went on, both solo shots by Acuna, so he finished with 3 AB's and 3 solo HRs. It was 10- in the 9th and Alvarez was trotted out there to try and get the complete game and to save some arms since the Braves didn't get another day off the rest of the regular season. However, he gave up a couple of HRs to Yelich and Narvaez and he exited the game with 8.1 IP and 2 ER. Grant Dayton would be called upon to just throw strikes and get the game over with. He allowed 2 more runs to cross the plate, but eventually got the last two outs and the Braves took game 1 by a score of 10-4. Despite getting 8 runs and 5 hits in inning 1, they finished with 10 runs on 13 hits. The offense would get some weak singles here and there, but outside of Acuna nobody could square the ball up all game and once Woodruff left the free passes left with him. It seems that leadoff HR just destroyed Woodruff mentally and he collapsed allowing a huge 1st inning.
Game 2 saw the Braves fall 3-4, but they rebounded to win 3-1 in game 3 and won yet another series.
The Braves currently sit at 97-55 with a 6.0 game lead on the Nats. There are 10 games left, 3 @Philly, 3 vs Washington, and 3 vs Houston. The Braves look like they more or less have the NL East wrapped up. It would take a big time collapse to give the Nats the division at this point. The Braves are playing good baseball overall right now despite the offense being a little inconsistent. They keep winning every series and that's all you can ask for. The pitching has continued to be dominant nearly every series really outperforming any expectations on the year. They'll each have a bad night here or there, but the offense generally always seems to have their back. The offense has also been amazing on the year, but is struggling with consistency in the final month scoring 9 one game and 2 the next. However, if they continue to win every series then who knows what October has in store for them.
Here is the gameplay. I'll start including the video that shows me playing the first game and any Critical Moments for the rest of the series. The playoffs I will be playing every game and uploading them a game at a time under spoilers like this as well.
The NL East leading Braves fresh off of a series win in Washington that put them up 5.5 games landed in Pittsburgh, but the offense seemed to suffer some jet lag. The Braves took 2 of 3 against the struggling Pirates, but it took some late game heroics by some unexpected name. The Braves took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning after Acuna walked, Albies singled, then Freeman and Brantley drove them in with a sav fly and ground out. 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 runs. That was all the Braves had on offense for nearly the rest of the game. The Pirates would go on to tie the game over the next few innings, then take a 5-2 lead. The Braves meanwhile had 2 hits, both singles by Albies. The 9th inning was up and the Braves didn't even have anyone warming up. They had basically thrown in the white towel and were conceding game 1. They even let Sean Newcomb, who had come in for long relief, bat for himself in the 7th. They were going to let him be the pitcher for the rest of the game and save the bullpen for games 2 and 3.
The offense had different plans in the top of the 9th. After Ozuna and Camargo found their way on base, Dansby Swanson decided to drive one right past the LF foul poul to tie the game up at 5. The Braves had 4 hits, yet they were tied 5-5. They'd go down quietly after tying it up, but there was new life and Will Smith had come in to throw a shutdown bottom of the 9th. He did just that. He did it again in the 10th after the Braves offense had another easy 1-2-3 inning. However, in the 11th we had another unlikely hero step up. Duvall came in as a pinch hitter for Smith and he hit a 2 run blast. Ozuna had a blast of his own in the top of the 11th and the Braves were all of a sudden up 8-5 with 7 hits when just 3 innings ago their offense didn't look like it had found the ballpark. The Braves would go on to hold off the Pirates and steal game 1 away.
Game 2 was not nearly as dramatic as the Braves cruised to a 11-5 win. Then in game 3 the Braves offense went missing again as they lost 2-3. The offense only managed 6 hits, but they had won the series on the road, plus they won capped off the road trip taking both series after dropping the first game of each one.
The Mets would come into Atlanta next and the Braves offense decided to not only show up, but to steal the show. The Braves put up 11 runs on 15 hits. Freeman hit 2 HR's, drove in 4, and the Braves cruised to another easy win, 11-8. The final looked closer because the Braves let 3 runs in in the top of the 9th because they let Grant Dayton throw his 3rd inning to save some arms.
The Braves would drop game two 5-7, but they bounced back to take game 3 and the series with a final of 7-6. They got the next day off, then the Phillies came into town.
In game 1 of the series we saw a pitcher's duel for the first 5 innings with a score of 1-1. The Braves then took a 3-1 lead in the 6th. The Phillies would go on to take a 4-3 lead in the 7th. The Braves responded immediately making it 5-4. Then in inning 8 they made it 9-4 which was the final. It was basically a tale of two halves baseball edition.
Game 2 of the series saw the offense disappear again as the Braves lost 1-6. Game 3 saw both offenses score a little, but not much, but the Braves won 4-3 and won yet another series, their 6th straight series win.
The Braves got a rest day then headed to Milwaukee to face a Brewers team fighting for the final wildcard spot. Let's just say game 1 saw an interesting 1st inning. Brandon Woodruff got the start. He had been having a great year so far with an ERA just over 3. He had a 3-pitch AB with Acuna to start the game off before Acuna barely got a ball over the fence in right field on a curve ball that was slightly too elevated. It was a wall scraper, but it was 1-0 nonetheless. Woodruff would then seem to let that HR affect him, plus was getting squeezed by the umpir quite a bit, and he ended up allowing only 3 more hits in the inning, but he also walked 4 and the Braves were up 8-0 in the blink of an eye on only 5 hits. Woodruff went 2/3 of an inning, allowing 8 ER, giving up 4 hits, throwing 4 walks, and getting 1 strikeout. That top of the 1st was pretty much all of the action the game would have as well. Henderson Alvarez threw 8 shutout innings, the Braves scored 2 more runs as the game went on, both solo shots by Acuna, so he finished with 3 AB's and 3 solo HRs. It was 10- in the 9th and Alvarez was trotted out there to try and get the complete game and to save some arms since the Braves didn't get another day off the rest of the regular season. However, he gave up a couple of HRs to Yelich and Narvaez and he exited the game with 8.1 IP and 2 ER. Grant Dayton would be called upon to just throw strikes and get the game over with. He allowed 2 more runs to cross the plate, but eventually got the last two outs and the Braves took game 1 by a score of 10-4. Despite getting 8 runs and 5 hits in inning 1, they finished with 10 runs on 13 hits. The offense would get some weak singles here and there, but outside of Acuna nobody could square the ball up all game and once Woodruff left the free passes left with him. It seems that leadoff HR just destroyed Woodruff mentally and he collapsed allowing a huge 1st inning.
Game 2 saw the Braves fall 3-4, but they rebounded to win 3-1 in game 3 and won yet another series.
The Braves currently sit at 97-55 with a 6.0 game lead on the Nats. There are 10 games left, 3 @Philly, 3 vs Washington, and 3 vs Houston. The Braves look like they more or less have the NL East wrapped up. It would take a big time collapse to give the Nats the division at this point. The Braves are playing good baseball overall right now despite the offense being a little inconsistent. They keep winning every series and that's all you can ask for. The pitching has continued to be dominant nearly every series really outperforming any expectations on the year. They'll each have a bad night here or there, but the offense generally always seems to have their back. The offense has also been amazing on the year, but is struggling with consistency in the final month scoring 9 one game and 2 the next. However, if they continue to win every series then who knows what October has in store for them.
Here is the gameplay. I'll start including the video that shows me playing the first game and any Critical Moments for the rest of the series. The playoffs I will be playing every game and uploading them a game at a time under spoilers like this as well.
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