ATLANTA — Start with the fact that Atlanta Braves rookie Spencer Schwellenbach, a revelation in his second season of pro ball, was at his best once again in a big game against a quality opponent, the surging New York Mets. Actually, it was the most important game of the Braves’ season so far, given the circumstances of the wild-card race.
Schwellenbach limited the Mets to three hits and one run in seven innings of a 5-1 series-opening win at Truist Park on Tuesday night, pulling the Braves within one game of the Mets and a half-game of Arizona in the NL wild-card standings.
“Not surprised at all — dude stays calm in a lot of situations,” Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud said of Schwellenbach, who has a 3.01 ERA in 13 starts against teams with winning records. He is 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA in two starts against the Mets with 15 strikeouts, one walk and five hits allowed in 14 innings.
“The juices were definitely flowing,” Schwellenbach said. “We’ve got five more games left and we need every single one of them. This is basically the playoffs starting now for us. We need wins, and that’s what we did tonight.”
#Braves beat the Mets 5-1 in the series opener, pull within a game of them and the Dbacks in the wild-card standings. Homers by Harris and Ozuna, big-time start from Schwellenbach.
— David O’Brien (@DOBrienATL) September 25, 2024
Of his notably strong performances against the better teams, Schwellenbach said, “I sound like a broken record, but I expect to do good regardless of what team I’m facing. Travis and Sean (Murphy, the Braves’ other catcher) have really good game plans for me, and I just kind of go out and trust them, throw pitches and get outs.”
The Mets’ only run in two games against Schwellenbach came on Mark Vientos’ seventh-inning solo homer Tuesday after the Braves built a 5-0 lead.
“He attacks the zone,” said Mets designated hitter Jesse Winker, who was 0-for-3 with two pop-ups and a groundout Tuesday against the rookie. “He has a really good fastball, man. He controls it really well. He was hitting both sides of the plate today. It’s fastball, cutter, slider. Third AB he broke out the splitter, which is also a good pitch. Really good life on his heater. He had a really good day.”
Winker added, “He’s had a really good year. He’s outstanding. You have to tip your hat to him.”
Indeed, Schwellenbach, who began the season in High A, has gone 8-7 with a 3.47 ERA in 20 starts for Atlanta, and his 122 strikeouts are the most in franchise history through a pitcher’s first 20 career appearances. His 2.65 ERA since July 1 is the second-lowest by any qualified MLB rookie, behind Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes (1.94).
“He’s not afraid to pitch off his fastball,” Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo said. “When you can pitch off your fastball and hit your spots, you can go in a lot of different ways. He’s done really well. He’s done it twice (to us). The thing I would point to is his pitch location and him executing that.”
Schwellenbach is 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA in his past three starts, including wins against the Dodgers and Mets.
“He’s got great stuff — not just the fastball but the cutter and slider,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He’s tough right-on-right. He got us again tonight.”
But after giving the richly deserved roses for Schwellenbach, who walked one, struck out four and threw 62 strikes in 87 pitches, a lot of credit should also be given to the Braves’ much-maligned offense, which has lurched, sputtered and only occasionally soared during a season when it’s been besieged by injuries.
And specifically to Michael Harris II, who had three hits including an RBI double and a homer, and Marcell Ozuna, who had his 38th homer and second in six games since ending a 25-game homer drought.
Harris has hit .337 with eight homers and a 1.003 OPS in 21 September games, twice as many home runs as any other Brave and one homer behind MLB’s co-leaders for the month, Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber.
Harris has five consecutive multi-hit games including four three-hit games in that span, and the center fielder also made another spectacular catch Tuesday, racing in to rob a fifth-inning hit from Luisangel Acuña, younger brother of injured Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr.
“One, he’s the best center fielder in baseball,” Schwellenbach said. “The way that guy goes and catches balls is unbelievable. And he’s getting hot at the right time, and we need that. He’s just been playing incredible baseball for us.”
Harris hit .260 with just a .653 OPS in 67 games through mid-June before a severe hamstring strain sidelined him for two months. He had a .280 average with 10 homers and an .817 OPS in 37 games since returning from the injured list before Tuesday when he finished a triple away from hitting for the cycle.
“Felt good,” Harris said. “Big series. Just got to come out swinging and putting up runs early. That’s what we did tonight, and pitching was phenomenal, Schwellenbach and (the bullpen). Just got to come out and do the same thing next two days, to control our own destiny.”
Harris had a first-inning leadoff single on a nine-pitch at-bat, a double to drive in the first run of a three-run third inning, and crushed a two-out solo homer in the fifth off Mets starter Luis Severino. It was an opposite-field drive that sailed an estimated 422 feet and blew the minds of some Braves.
“I’ve never seen him go oppo like that, at 1-however hard he hit it,” said d’Arnaud. When told it was a sizzling 111.5 mph, d’Arnaud raised his eyebrows approvingly and said, “Oppo, too. He’s only 23. And he’s legit in center field.”
When a reporter mentioned how difficult those catches are for a center fielder racing straight in, d’Arnaud said, “Heck, yeah. And it was against Ronny’s brother.”
Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Harris’ surge, “It’s good timing, I tell you that. It’s the right time of year to get hot. It’s a few of them that, we’ve been struggling to score runs and hit with guys on base, and now all of a sudden they’re starting to (do it).”
Snitker added, “He reminds me of Andruw (Jones) in center field, the play he made.”
Harris has one of the best views of Schwellenbach and the swings and reactions of hitters facing the rookie. Like so many others, Harris can hardly believe how little Schwellenbach has pitched, given how polished and poised he is.
A former shortstop at the University of Nebraska who didn’t pitch there until his final season, Schwellenbach missed his would-be first season of minor-league ball in 2022 recovering from Tommy John surgery, and has thrown 258 1/3 innings since high school.
That’s not a typo. He threw 31 2/3 innings in college, 110 in the minors, and has 116 2/3 innings in the majors.
“It’s kind of crazy, it reminds me of (Spencer) Strider his rookie year, how poised he was going out there in those big games,” Harris said. “Against good teams, just doing what he does and dominating.”
(Photo of Michael Harris II: Brett Davis / Imagn Images)
