Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images López continued to put the Braves rotation on his back — just like we all predicted back in February, right? Reynaldo López continued to be the most consistent starting pitcher for the Atlanta Braves here in the early going of the season. His six shutout innings helped keep the Braves in control as they rode another late wave of offense to a 6-2 series win at Minute Maid Park over the Houston Astros. Once the schedule made it apparent that the pitching matchup for tonight’s game was going to be Reynaldo López going for the Braves against Hunter Brown starting for the Astros, I’d imagine that people would’ve been more-than-willing to bet against a pitching duel breaking out. This is the sport of baseball where anything can happen, though, so naturally we ended up witnessing a pitching duel for the first two-thirds of this contest. At first, it seemed as if Ronald Acuña Jr. was going to create another run by himself as he led off the game with a single and then stole second. He then went for third and while he was initially ruled safe, he ended up being called out on review and the scoring chance for Atlanta evaporated from there. Fortunately, the Braves wouldn’t have to wait long to get on the board in this one. Orlando Arcia returned to the lineup after starting last night on the bench and he responded to that by winning an eight-pitch battle and lifting the ball up and into the area adjacent to the Crawford Boxes for what was ruled as a home run. Arcia’s first dinger of the season was of the solo variety so the Braves had a razor-thin 1-0 lead to hang onto at that point. As it turned out, that ended up being all Reynaldo López needed in order to exert control over the game. While López wasn’t exactly perfect (he had to deal with at least one runner in scoring position for each of the second, third and fourth innings), he continued to stay positively consistent and proved to be extremely tough for the Astros to crack while he was out there. Once Reynaldo López was done for the night, his line went along to the tune of six innings pitched, four hits allowed, one walk, seven strikeouts and zero runs allowed. López has now gone six innings in each of his three starts so far and he still hasn’t given up a run since his first start of the season. Needless to say, he’s provided the consistency that this rotation has needed in a bumpy start to the season and here’s hoping that he can keep this going into a renaissance season of sorts. It also has to be mentioned that Hunter Brown ended up getting the bounce-back game that he had been desperately looking for after a dismal start to his season. Atlanta was unable to really hit Brown hard while he was out there and this ended up being Brown’s best start of the season by a country mile. He finished the game with six innings under his belt and five hits and three walks to his name with three strikeouts. He was unable to keep that one run on his record, though, as he did leave the game in the top of the seventh inning with the bases loaded and nobody out after the Braves led off that frame with a double from Michael Harris II and two walks immediately afterwards. This was a golden opportunity for the Braves to crack the game wide open and put some distance between them and the Astros and things got off to a well-enough start when Orlando Arcia hit a deep sacrifice fly ball to right-center that moved all the runners up a base and plated Atlanta’s second run of the game. The good times ended right then and there, though, as Shawn Dubin struck out Jarred Kelenic and got Luis Guillorme to ground out to end the scoring threat and keep it at just 2-0 in favor of the Braves. Reynaldo López set the tone for the night and the Braves bullpen kept it going in the right direction once they entered the game in relief. Tyler Matzek sat down the Astros in order in the seventh inning and then Joe Jiménez came in and followed suit in the eighth inning as well, ensuring that the Braves would be heading into the ninth inning with at least a two-run lead intact. The hope was that the Braves would get back to their current ways in the ninth inning — meaning that the ninth inning was scoring time for Atlanta. Sure enough, the Braves got a rally going in the ninth which saw Marcell Ozuna extend his hitting streak to 15 games. Ozuna's single was followed by a single from Orlando Arcia and then another single for Jarred Kelenic loaded the bases with one out for Luis Guillorme. Guillorme then proceeded to hit a blooper the other way that bounced right off the chalk foul line and into the seats for a ground rule double that plated two and put the Braves ahead in a comfortable 4-0 lead. Chadwick Tromp then proceeded to put the game to bed with a perfectly-placed gapper in left center that plated two more runs and made it 6-0 in favor of the Braves. The ninth inning was once again very, very good to the Atlanta Braves. Tromp tacks on two more with a double to center. There's 17 runs in the ninth inning for the #Braves this season. https://t.co/tqSwJTVfUJ— Kevin McAlpin (@KevinMcAlpin) April 17, 2024 Aaron Bummer got the nod for the ninth inning and immediately fumbled the shutout, as Kyle Tucker led off the ninth with a no-doubter that put the Astros on the board for the first time since the first inning of Monday night's game. Bummer got the next two outs but then ran into some more trouble as he gave up a double, an RBI single and a walk to his next three hitters. Just like that, it was 6-2 and Aaron Bummer was pulled from the game in favor of Raisel Iglesias being placed into a one-out save situation. Fortunately, Iglesias induced a ground ball out of pinch hitter Victor Caratini to end the game and give the Braves the series victory. The Braves will be heading back to the Atlanta metro area tomorrow evening but before then, they'll have a getaway day matinee matchup against the Astros at 2:10 P.M. E.T. Max Fried will be getting the ball for tomorrow afternoon's matchup and here's hoping that Fried can follow López's act with a vintage performance of his own as the Braves attempt to sweep Houston on their way out of town.

Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images Will the Braves take the series win tonight? The Atlanta Braves are one win away from guaranteeing a winning record on this two-city road trip that they've been on since this past weekend. They already took care of the Houston Astros last night with another furious late-inning rally and the hope is that Reynaldo López and the Braves can compound the frustration that the Astros are collectively feeling at the moment. A series win in Houston in this current era is always something to hang your hat on and hopefully the Braves can take care of business and assure themselves of a very successful road trip with a win tonight. Game Notes Preview Lineups Ozzie Albies goes to the 10-day IL; David Fletcher called up

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Jourdan Rodrigue joined Bleav in Falcons to discuss what Morris meant to the Rams and what Atlanta can expect from their new head coach and coordinators. When the Falcons began their search for their next head coach, some of the most renowned coaches of the last two decades were viewed as top options. But they didn’t make Bill Belichick or Jim Harbaugh the next leader of their organization. Instead, Atlanta opted for a reunion with Raheem Morris, and it’s become increasingly clear why. On the most recent episode of Bleav in Falcons, I sat down with Jourdan Rodrigue, who covers the Los Angeles Rams for The Athletic. My goal was to learn a little bit more about Morris’s time since departing the Falcons in 2021 after six years with the organization, the last of which was partially spent as interim head coach. She had a lot of share about Morris and the two coordinators he’s bringing with him to Atlanta, and I’d highly recommend anyone interested to listen to the podcast. The clear highlight of our conversation was just how much Morris meant to Rams head coach Sean McVay. After winning the Super Bowl in 2021, Morris’s first season with the team, the Rams embarked on a season marred by injuries and something of an identity crisis. McVay, who is as much the face of the franchise as any head coach in the league, was burned out and internalized the Rams’ struggles deeply. “However he is, they are,” Rodrigue said of McVay. “He got so worried that he was bringing people down because of how he was feeling and how tired he was that it was like, ok, do you have to retreat into yourself a little bit? Do you have to recalibrate? If you’re a head coach, usually you can’t do that—unless you have Raheem Morris.” Morris was essential in helping keep the spirits and energy in the Rams’ facility uplifted. When McVay retreated into himself, dealing with struggles related to matters on and off the field as Rodrigue reported for The Athletic, Morris was key in stepping up to fill that void. He would host players from the offensive side of the ball in his office for film sessions. He’d speak directly with McVay, providing perspective and insights from his own coaching trials and tribulations. At one point, Morris was in McVay’s shoes. He was the youngest head coach in the league when Tampa Bay gave him their top job at the age of 32. Now 47, Morris contains an uncommon amount of wisdom and infuses it with his seemingly limitless enthusiasm. Morris can command a room without the need for total control. He has earned an incredible amount of trust from a wide range of people in a profession dominated by egos and conflicting agendas. That’s part of the reason Morris is back in Atlanta. Another reason he’s back with the Falcons is that he’s a damn good football coach. Perhaps no season better epitomizes that than his work with the Rams in 2023. “I think the Rams asked something pretty unfair of Raheem, and I say that not as a negative thing, necessarily, but just structurally unfair. They gutted his entire defense for the sake of their salary cap, and they said, ‘Hey, we saw what you could do in 2022 when you helped keep us all intact.’” Morris once again rose to the moment. Among the players to leave the Rams during free agency in 2023 were Nick Scott and Taylor Rapp, the team’s starting safeties, veteran linebackers Bobby Wagner and Leonard Floyd, defensive linemen Greg Gaines and A’Shawn Robinson, and cornerback Troy Hill. On top of those departures, star cornerback Jalen Ramsey was traded to the Miami Dolphins. Of the top eight players in terms of defensive snaps played during the 2022 season, seven were no longer on the roster for 2023. Despite incurring heavy veteran losses, Morris’s unit improved in points per game allowed, third-down defense and sacks while holding steady in nearly every other category. While rookie Puka Nacua set the world on fire for the Rams’ offense, Morris helped first-year defensive lineman Kobie Turner lead the team with nine sacks and finish as a finalist for Defensive Rookie of the Year. “You saw this with Raheem Morris’s defense in 2023, second-half adjustments were insane,” Rodrigue said. “They had [five] half-shutouts, a couple in the first (half), but a lot in the second. You always saw the adjustments in part because they were always able to get freer, more flexible.” The relationship between Morris and McVay allowed their respective areas of expertise to complement the other on Sundays, and that’s a quality Atlanta fans may notice this Fall. Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson and defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake were on the Rams’ staff last season, so they can help implement a similar identity and understand how Morris wants the interplay between offense and defense to look. Rodrigue spoke about what fans can expect in Robinson and Lake, including a unique learning opportunity for Lake last season. But the future of the Falcons begins with Morris. He’s come a long way since his first stint as a head coach, and he’s seen as much as virtually any coach in this league. During his journey, one thing has remained abundantly clear: He leaves a mark. “So many people were celebrating, internally, in Los Angeles but also, I got all of these texts like, ‘Holy cow, how are we ever going to replace his energy?’” If you would like to listen to the entire interview with Jourdan Rodrigue on Bleav in Falcons, you can do so here.

The latest pickleball venue to open in Atlanta, Painted Pickle offers much more than the tennis-like game. Created by Justin Amick and William Stallworth, the team being the Painted Pin and the Painted Duck, Painted Pickle is a “compeatery” (a word Amick coined to describe the venue's vibe) with live music, lawn games, poker, ping-pong, mini golf, table shuffleboard, and more. The post Painted Pickle—a pickleball “compeatery”—opens April 17 appeared first on Atlanta Magazine.