The Braves swept the visiting Diamondbacks in their opening home series, but it was a costly one. David & Eric begin with the dominant bullpen that didn't allow a run the entire series. Pierce Johnson had an excellent weekend as he earned the win on Friday and notched the save on Sunday.
(10:00) The offense scored twenty runs in the series and hit five homers in the process. Major offensive production was needed after short outings by both Spencer Strider and Max Fried.
(13:00) The negative of the weekend is of course Strider's elbow injury that sent him to the IL. His initial MRI showed significant damage to his UCL and the rest of his season is in serious doubt. Strider was not the only high profile pitcher to suffer an injury this weekend as Cleveland's Shane Bieber found out that he will need Tommy John surgery on his elbow. Strider is set to meet with the doctor in the next few days.
(20:00) The rash of pitching injuries led to the MLBPA releasing a statement over the weekend claiming that alterations in the pitch clock have been a culprit. Did adding a curveball lead to this elbow issue for Strider?
(28:00) David shares Austin Riley's theory as to why there have been so many pitcher injuries and it has to do with higher velocity than there used to be. This leads to an extended conversation on the subject.
(50:00) Next up is a four game series in Atlanta against the Mets. It is unclear who will take Strider's spot in the rotation on Wednesday evening and David lays out the potential options.
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