755 Forever David O'Brien & Eric O'Flaherty

**The news that Ronald Acuña Jr. is out for the season due to a torn ACL in his left knee came ten minutes into our Sunday night taping.
The Braves had a costly victory on Sunday in Pittsburgh as the reigning MVP exited early due to a knee injury. David & Eric dive into the non contact play where Acuña went down while on the bases.
(09:30) Chris Sale was dominant again on Sunday in the 8-1 victory as he struck out eight Pirates in seven innings of work. Sale had a tremendous month as he went 5-0 in as many starts.
(11:00) Live reaction to the breaking news at 10:15pm Eastern on Sunday night that Acuña's 2024 season is over.
(15:00) Eric is joined by a pair of former of relievers for a special bonus interview. Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen, who both pitched many years for the Nats vs. the Braves join the show as they will be in Atlanta this upcoming weekend. Hear more about their life in the whiskey business and learn more at drinkfieldofdreams.com.
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The Braves took two out of three at Wrigley Field during the week and it was their second series victory over the Cubs this month. David & Eric begin with AJ Smith Shawver and find out mid conversation that he has landed on the 15-day IL. Smith Shawver started Thursday night's 3-0 shutout win.
(06:00) Sean Murphy has begun his rehab stint in the minors and immediately homered. Murphy went on the IL on March 30th due to a strained left oblique.
(09:00) The Braves are in Pittsburgh this upcoming weekend, but they will not face Paul Skenes, as he pitched on Thursday. Chris Sale will take the mound on Sunday afternoon in the series finale.
(20:00) The Phillies have opened a six game lead in the division and have the best record in baseball.
(24:00) Max Fried threw a complete game on Wednesday evening in the 9-2 win. He is the first pitcher in all of MLB this season to throw multiple complete games.
(40:00) David learned new information about Wrigley Field this week and confirms Eric's suspicions about "The Friendly Confines".
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The Braves lost three out of four games to the visiting Padres in a series that concluded with a split doubleheader on Monday. David begins the episode by ranting to Eric about how the postponement was mishandled on Saturday night. He explains how national television implications played a pivotal role in the situation.
(09:00) Reynaldo Lopez yet again pitched well and handed the bullpen a three run lead on Monday afternoon, but Joe Jimenez gave up four runs in the top of the 8th in the 6-5 loss. Jimenez's ERA jumped from 1.59 to 3.50 after the bad inning.
(20:00) Austin Riley did not play the entire series and he has not played in over a week. Riley told reporters over the weekend that he is dealing with intercostal muscle inflammation and has not been swinging a bat.
(24:00) Ronald Acuña Jr. dropped a routine fly ball in Sunday night's 9-1 loss. He bounced back on Monday as he collected four hits in the doubleheader.
(30:00) Chris Sale was dominant in Atlanta's 3-0 victory on Monday evening. He struck out nine Padres and didn't issue any walks in seven innings of work. Sale has four starts in May and has totaled 37 strikeouts in that span.
(41:30) The Braves are ten games over .500, but trail the Phillies by five games in the division. David notes that they basically have the same record as last season at this point despite not leading the NL East.
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The Braves took two of three this week against the visiting Cubs and are enjoying a day off on Thursday. David & Eric start with Ronald Acuña Jr. , who did not play in Wednesday's 7-1 loss. Acuña recently was picked off three straight times and the last one came in the bottom of the 1st on Monday.
(13:00) The Phillies lead Atlanta by three games in the division and have been paced by excellent pitching. Ranger Suarez seems to be the early front runner for the NL Cy Young Award as he is 8-0 in nine starts and his ERA is at 1.37.
(22:00) Chris Sale tossed seven shutout innings in Tuesday's 7-0 win and struck out nine. Sale has been dominant this month as he has 28 strikeouts with one walk in his three Mays starts.
(41:00) David gives an update on last year's first round draft pick, Hurston Waldrep, who pitched at the University of Florida. He has only allowed two runs in three outings this month and lasted eight frames on Wednesday.
(53:00) The other AA pitcher that we shine a spotlight on is Spencer Schwellenbach. He struck out nine in his most recent appearance for Mississippi and turns 24 at the end of the month.
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The Braves were three outs away from sweeping the Mets, but A.J. Minter blew the save in Sunday night's 4-3 loss. Eric & David begin with Minter's struggles in the closer role and explain why he was put in the game in that spot before ultimately giving up Brandon Nimmo's walk-off homer.
(06:00) Austin Riley exited the game early on Sunday due to left side tightness and is currently day-to-day. He was replaced by the recently acquired Zack Short.
(14:00) Max Fried had a no-hitter going on Saturday afternoon, but was lifted after throwing 109 pitches through seven innings. Atlanta was one out away from a combined no hitter, but Raisel Iglesias allowed a solo homer to J.D. Martinez in the 4-1 victory. The Braves have not had a no-hitter since Kent Mercker threw one in 1994.
(25:30) Atlanta has one of the best records in baseball despite the offense under performing. Ronald Acuña Jr.'s OPS is only .714 this season and David notes how the winning thus far is more because of pitching than hitting.
(31:00) The team returns to Truist Park for a three game series. vs. the Cubs. Later this month the Braves will play in Pittsburgh and they might face Paul Skenes. The hosts discuss what they've seen from last summer's #1 overall pick.
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The Braves authored a two game sweep this week over the Red Sox after a rough trip in Seattle and Los Angeles. David & Eric begin with Chris Sale, who earned the win on Wednesday night against his old team. Sale struck out ten batters in six innings in the 5-0 victory.
(05:00) Marcell Ozuna homered twice on Wednesday night and David lays out just how incredible his numbers at the plate have been since May of 2023. Ozuna currently leads baseball with 12 home runs, just ahead of Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Tucker.
(13:00) More on Sale's numbers for this season. He is tied for 3rd in the National League in wins with five and leads the team with the lowest WHIP (0.98).
(17:15) Tyler Matzek was placed on the IL and it was listed as elbow inflammation. Taking his roster spot is Ray Kerr, he is a left handed pitcher who Atlanta acquired in a trade with the Padres in December.
(20:00) The Braves trail Philadelphia by two games in the division as the Phillies recently had a seven game win streak snapped.
(23:00) Matt Olson had a pair of hits in the series and his currently hitting just at .200. He has had a lot of hard hit balls lately that have died at the warning track. Olson has gone 26 consecutive games without a homer.
(29:00) Explanation of the recent trades where the Braves sent Luis Guillorme to the Angels and acquired Zack Short from Boston. Short is not a hitter, but provides a better option to backup Orlando Arcia when needed. Arcia homered on Wednesday and went back-to-back with Ozuna, the first time this season the offense has pulled off that feat.
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