TAKEAWAYS: Elder, Braves cruise to 5-0 victory over the Yankees

The Braves notched their 77th win of the season tonight, beating a fizzling Yankees team 5-0 at Truist Park. Here are some takeaways.

Bombing the Bombers

The Braves love to hit homers, and tonight was no exception. Luis Severino, who won 19 games for the Yankees in 2019 but has been dreadful lately, actually pitched fairly well...outside of two big blasts to straightaway center.

That was Marcell Ozuna putting the Braves up in the first. And this was Ronald Acuña Jr. adding to the lead in the fourth.

Those two homers put the Braves at 231 for the season. In other statistical notes, Acuña now has scored 108 runs this season to go along with his 27 homers, 55 steals, 73 RBIs and gaudy advanced stats. Atlanta's slugging over .500 as a team, and they're still on pace to break the single-season team tater record, held by the 2019 Twins. (Remember that 2019 was the year of the juiced ball.) Basically, just another day at the office for the Braves.

Elder Statesman

The offense did its thing, but the big story tonight was Bryce Elder, who shook off his recent struggles and tossed seven shutout innings. Now we should note that the Yankees are roadkill right now, but even so, Bryce only allowed one hit while both walking and striking out three on 94 pitches. Everything looked sharper, and he induced nine groundouts, including three double play balls.

We'll see how he follows it up, with his next turn in the rotation likely coming either Sunday against the Giants or Monday against the Mets depending on how Brian Snitker & Associates want to handle the rotation on this homestand. But Bryce has now thrown 138 innings for the Braves this year, plus six more for Gwinnett. We're not to his professional innings high yet, which is the 159 he threw last year. How he holds up as the autumn approaches is a big story to watch, but tonight was the most encouraging outing we've seen from him in a while.

Home Sweet Home

The Braves improved to 39-20 at home. That's second in baseball behind the Rangers' 41-20 mark, just ahead of Tampa's 40-22 tally. (The hated Dodgers can improve to 39-20 at home tonight with a win over Milwaukee.) Obviously you would expect a great team like Atlanta to roll at home, but early in the season, the team seemed more comfortable on the road. Now that came in a small sample, and these things tend to correct as the year wears on. And it doesn't take away from the club's excellent road record this season, 38-22, which is tied with the Orioles for the best in baseball. (Baltimore can nudge ahead if they win at San Diego tonight.) But as the summer heat has cranked up, so have the Braves' bats at home.

Atlanta is first in MLB in slugging, OPS, wOBA, and homers, and are second or third in most other categories you can think of. (Texas and Boston are usually the other teams mixed into the top three with the Braves.) There's certainly a confidence and swagger about the team no matter where they play, but especially so at home. Let's see how it plays out over the rest of this homestand with the Giants and Mets visiting Cobb County over the next few days. (The Braves then begin another arduous road trip, with any momentum heading into it welcome.)

On Deck

The Braves and Yankees wrap up this three-game series tomorrow at 7:20 Eastern. This is also the final interleague game of the 2023 regular season for Atlanta. Uncle Charlie Morton (11-10, 3.71 ERA, 4.17 FIP) gets the ball for the home team, while New York counters with rookie Randy Vásquez (2-1, 1.89 ERA, 5.11 FIP in three starts).

The game broadcast is available inside Braves Country on Bally Sports South and on MLB.TV outside of the broadcast area. The radio call, with Ben Ingram, is available locally on 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan or outside the Atlanta market on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network or MLB.com.

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