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University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications

Tigers’ Win 16-7: Meadows Bros’ Shine as Braves Bullpen Struggles

By Jesse Simmons

March 15, 2023

Despite a strong outing from Braves’ veteran RHP Charlie Morton and an early 5-0 lead, the Detroit Tigers roar back to win 16-7 on Sunday in North Port.

Braves Choppin’ Early

The Braves offense broke through early in the ball game in the 2nd inning following back to back walks from Forrest Wall and Justin Dean with a 3-run blast from a now fully healthy All-star: Ozzie Albies

The next inning, a pair of 2-out hits with an RBI double from Braden Shewmake and an RBI single from Eli White would stretch the lead to 5-0 Braves went into the 4th inning.

Veteran and seasoned postseason pitcher Charlie Morton showed promise in Sunday’s outing sitting 92-95 mph with good life on his breaking ball.

Despite starting the game off with a walk to Zack Short (who also had the only hit against him) and walking 2 more in the 2nd, Morton would end the day with back to back strikeouts against Cesar Hernandez and Riley Greene.

Tigers Scratch Back

The Braves seemed to be in control with their starting lineup still in play, but that was not the case when Morton exited the game.

Meadows Bros: It was a big day for Austin and Parker Meadows, both brothers and outfielders, serving as a 1-2 punch. They combined for 5 hits in 7 at bats, (2 HR’s from Parker), 7 RBI’s, and a walk.

4th inning: Parker Meadows, Atlanta native and Tigers centerfielder began his day with a massive home run trailed by a an RBI double from Andre Lipcius, cutting the lead down 5-2.

From then on, it was the Tigers offense who took advantage of a Braves pitching carousel, who flew through 7 relievers before the game ended.

5th & 6th Inning: It was older brother Austin’s turn to get in on the mix with a 2-RBI single and Parker following up in the next at bat with a 2-run moonshot to deep center field, Parker’s second on the day.

The spectacular day at the plate for the Meadows boys helped establish a lead that would not be caught.

The Braves made one more push in the 6th, scoring 2 more runs from Eli White’s fly ball off the wall for a double and Orlando Arcia with a hard hit RBI single to left to take back the lead for the Braves.

However, that was the last we would see from the Braves offense on the day as it turned into the Tiger show.

7th-9th inning: As the Tigers substituted lineups, 7 more runs were tacked on and would end with 19 hits on the day.

Andrew Navigato would tie the game with a hard hit double off Atlanta’s Kyle Wilcox. With 2 outs, Jake Holton would get the go ahead RBI single up the middle, scoring two more Tigers.

5 different Tigers would pick up an RBI including a 6-run 8th inning that turned this spring training game into a football-like score of 16-7.

Braves Bullpen Carousel

A hot offense and a cold defense tend to produce drastic results. That was the case when Atlanta and Detroit each changed their pitchers.

Atlanta’s 7 relievers struggled on Sunday, with 3 of them recording less than an inning pitched and a combined ERA of 64.80.

5 pitchers gave up multiple runs and 2 pitchers, Lucas Leutge and Kyle Willcox, surrendered 4 runs.

Detroit’s 5 relievers were consistent out of the pen giving up only 2 runs on 5 hits in seven innings.

Which was less than the Tiger’s Starting pitch Matt Manning, who let up 5 runs on 6 hits in just three innings.

University of Florida alumni and 2017 college national champion, Alex Faedo, was in relief for the Tigers, and picked up the win on the game as he faced the last of Atlanta’s All-Star studded lineup before substitutions.

Up Next: Sunday Matchups

The Braves are headed to Bradenton for a matchup against the Pittsburgh Pirates at LECOM Park at 1:00pm.

The Detroit Tigers are at home in Lakeland as they host the Minnesota Twins at Joker Marchant Stadium for a 1:00pm start.

Posted: March 15, 2023
Category: Braves, Tigers, Uncategorized
Tagged as: , , ,

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