The Atlanta Braves begin their Western road trip with a series opener against the Diamondbacks

After the Atlanta Braves ended their home series on a high note with a series win over the Phillies, they now look to keep the good vibes going as they head out West for the next week – starting with a trip to the desert to take on the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Tonight’s game should be interesting based on the starting pitching battle alone. For starters, the Diamondbacks will have a starting pitcher making his MLB debut for the second time in as many weeks. Last week, it was Cristian Mena who got the call. Tonight, it’s Yilber Diaz who will throw his first pitches as a major leaguer to start tonight’s game.

Diaz isn’t just a starter because the D-Backs are currently dealing with an injury situation with their pitching staff, he’s also a starter because he’s done a great job in the minor leagues so far this season. In fact, Diaz is coming off a start on July 1 for the Reno Aces, where he struck out 13 batters, which isn’t bad for a guy who wasn’t promoted to Triple-A until June 11.

That being said, everyone knows there is still a big difference between what Triple-A hitters can do and what major leaguers are capable of and it is Atlanta’s job to make that difference as glaring as possible. As Ivan mentioned in the series preview, this could be a situation where Diaz isn’t on the field for very long and if that is the case, it will be up to the Braves to get Diaz out of the game and into what could potentially be a reduced bullpen for the Diamondbacks as they head into this one. If Atlanta could welcome Diaz back in MLB fashion in a big way, it could indeed be a fun night at the ballpark for Atlanta.

Meanwhile, the Braves are sending anyone but a rookie to the mound for tonight’s game. 2024 National League All-Star Chris Sale gets the ball for the Braves tonight, and as usual, you have to like Atlanta’s chances in any game Sale starts at this point. The 35-year-old has been brilliant for the Braves this season, as it appears a return to good health has also resulted in a healthy result for Sale. He enters this game with a 65 ERA and 58 FIP for the season so far — both of which are as good as we’ve seen from Sale since his prime pitching days for either American League Sox team.

Since the A’s inexplicably gave him eight runs in five innings, Sale has absolutely shut down opposing hitters. Over his last five starts in 32 innings, Sale has allowed nine walks and seven runs while striking out 45 batters in that same span, for a 38% strikeout rate and a 30.4% strikeout-to-walk percentage. Or, to put it as simply as possible, opponents have hit just .165 against Sale in that span. Sale has been a nightmare for opposing hitters and at this point, it’s all about the offense giving him run support so he can continue to keep the other team quiet while he’s on the mound.

While the last three games are a microscopic sample size compared to the rest of the baseball season, it is very encouraging to see that the Braves have scored at least five runs in each of the three games they have played against the Phillies. It has still been way too long since Atlanta has won a game where the other team scored more than three runs (April 17, to be exact), but let’s hope that with Chris Sale pitching tonight, this won’t be the night we see that statistic put to the test. Instead, let’s hope the Braves can spoil Yilber Diaz’s major league debut and get plenty of support from Sale to get the road trip off to a good start.

Game Information

Game date/time: Monday, July 8, 9:40 p.m. ET

Location: Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona

TV: Bally Sports South, MLB Network (out-of-market only)

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM