Guards open road trip in Atlanta

The Guardians open a two-city trip to a pair of National League locals tonight when they take on the Atlanta Braves on April 10 at Truist Park..The set continues in St. Louis with games set for April 13-15.

Cleveland (8-5) has a history with the Braves. Atlanta beat Cleveland in the 1995 World Series 4-2. I sent to three of those games. The first two in Atlanta and then Gave 4 in Cleveland.Those were some good times. Got the tickets from good old Roger Stewart. I remember walking home from a World Series game and walking through the campus of Emory.That was a long time ago. 32 years ago. Seems like it was just yesterday.

The Braves have a lot of history. They started out in Boston, moved to Milwaukee and were the first southern team in the MLB. They are best known for producing a power-hitting outfielde named Hank Aaron. Aaron would become the sports all-time home run king in 1975 when he hit career homer No. 715 and surpassed baseball immortal Babe Ruth, who for many years held the career homer record with 714.

Tonight the Guardians will run out Slade Cecconi as the starting pitcher. Atlanta is likewise 8-5. They'll start Bryce Elder. The Braves rank in the top in the National League in home runs and our sixth in the MLB in team scoring. The Braves line up will challenge Cleveland’s pitching staff. The biggest challenge will come in the form of Atlanta’s Drake Baldwin who has smashed five home runs and driven in 12.

Cleveland, winner of two straight, is being led by its rookie duo of Chase DeLauter and Juan Brito. DeLauter has smashed five home runs while Brito, who was just called up from Triple A, is hitting .500 in two games.

Games this weekend are tonight, April 11 and 7:15 p.m. and Sunday at 7:20 p.m. 

Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez needs to get it going on offense. I know he just set the record for most games played in franchise history, but a batting average of .163, which is Ramirez’s current average, can't continue.

Look out for Atlanta’s all-star outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. to have a big series. He’s is hitting just .203 with two RBI.

Enjoy the game.

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