ATLANTA -- Ronald Acuña Jr. homering for the third time in the eight games he has played since returning from a year-long absence was further proof of his greatness. Austin Riley homering for just the second time since May 4 was encouraging.
But seeing Spencer Schwellenbach throw a pair of 100 mph pitches, that’s special. Or did it just have something to do with the birthday strength he displayed while helping the Braves gain a much-needed pick-me-up with a 5-0 win over the Red Sox on Saturday afternoon at Truist Park?
“Maybe, probably -- but no, I felt good,” said Schwellenbach, who turned 25 on Saturday. “My body felt really good. I just woke up on the right side of the bed today, I guess.”
It felt like each of the Braves woke up feeling much better than they had on Friday night, when they seemingly neared rock bottom with their seventh loss in nine games. Matt Olson doubled home a run in the first on Saturday. Riley and Acuña homered in a four-run fourth against Walker Buehler.
Receiving contributions from each of these three stars was common back in 2023, when Schwellenbach was experiencing his first professional season.
“He’s a special guy,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of his young pitcher, who has posted a 3.27 ERA in the 33 starts he has made since his MLB debut on May 29, 2024.
Schwellenbach looked like a man on a mission as he matched his career high with 11 strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings. The hurler began his second straight double-digit-strikeout game by registering 100.2 mph with a pitch in the first inning and 100 mph with a pitch in the second inning.
“When I try to get on one, I can usually get 98 [mph],” Schwellenbach said. “But the ones where I was just trying to hit a spot today, it was like 99, and I was like, ‘Oh, boy!’ When I struck out [Wilyer Abreu] in the first inning, I was going for 100. The innings afterwards, I was just doing what I usually do. It was just coming out a little better today.”
Schwellenbach has recorded 11 strikeouts without issuing a walk in each of his past two starts. He is the first pitcher to notch 11-plus strikeouts without issuing a free pass in at least two straight starts since Zac Gallen on April 21-26, 2023, and just the 16th pitcher to do so since at least 1901.
“You see the strike-to-ball percentage and it’s just crazy,” Snitker said. “The stuff for him was ticked up. I look up there, and he’s throwing in the 100s and not really overexerting either.”
Schwellenbach had never previously thrown a pitch harder than 98.9 mph. But he threw 99 mph or harder 11 times through the first two innings and 13 times total during his 99-pitch outing.
“I don’t know if it was his birthday and he was just feeling good,” Riley said. “But it was just an outstanding performance.”
The Braves went 13-14 in May despite their rotation posting a 2.98 ERA. Efforts like Schwellenbach’s were too often wasted over the past few weeks.
But Atlanta has been looking forward to days like this when its stars click simultaneously.
Acuña has hit .367 with three homers and a 1.174 OPS in the 34 plate appearances he’s completed since returning from left knee surgery on May 23. Most importantly, he’s feeling good.
“When you play like that, you feel great every day,” Snitker said.
Olson had a decent May, hitting eight homers and producing an .814 OPS. His 14 extra-base hits were two fewer than the combined totals of Riley (nine) and Marcell Ozuna (seven).
Riley had just three extra-base hits over 85 at-bats from May 5 through the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader in Philadelphia. But he has three extra-base hits in the 10 at-bats that have followed.
“We’ve got some of the best hitters in the world on our team,” Schwellenbach said. “We’ve got a deep lineup and a lot of people who can hit. If I’m an opposing pitcher, I don’t want to face the Braves.”
Nor are opposing teams anxiously looking forward to seeing Schwellenbach, who counted a Rafael Devers grand slam as the only damage he incurred during a determined seven-inning victorious effort at Fenway Park on May 18.
“He’s got good stuff,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “He went from 94, 95, 96 [mph] against us at home, and then all of a sudden it was 98 to 99 [on Saturday]. Started using his split against lefties halfway through the outing. We tried to battle, but that was good stuff.”