Atlanta, GA
Key MLB Awards Dates to Watch for Atlanta Braves Players
The major awards season is around the corner for Major League Baseball. While the Players Choice Awards and accolades from publications have been dropped, we await the biggest hardware of them all.
Some Atlanta Braves players should be in the running for some of these awards – or at least be finalists for them. Let’s look at some key dates that are relevant to Braves who are up for or are expected to be up for awards in November.
This is a very jam-packed day. Buckle up.
The first major award that will be up for grabs by a Braves player is the Hank Aaron Award. Named after the Braves legend, the award aims to recognize some of the top offensive performers from the season.
Designated hitter Marcell Ozuna is the Braves rep who is up for the award.
The All-MLB First and Second Teams will be announced. Five Braves players have a shot to be on either team.
First Base: Matt Olson
DH: Marcell Ozuna
Starting Pitchers: Chris Sale and Reynaldo López
Relief Pitcher: Raisel Iglesias
Then, there is Comeback Player of the Year. Chris Sale has already won it during the Players Choice Awards and for Sporting News. That could be a sign he’ll take it home a third time when the writers at MLB.com decide their winner.
A reliever in each league will be named the Reliever of the Year – named for Trevor Hoffman in the NL and Mariano Rivera in the AL – be on the lookout for Raisel Iglesias who was stellar for the Braves this season. He had a 1.95 ERA and had a run of 30 games without giving up a run.
Lastly, there is the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award. There is one winner. It will likely be Shohei Ohtani, but it can’t hurt to look out for Ozuna.
Like with the Gold Glove Awards, the Silver Slugger Award will be handed out to a player at each position.
The lone Braves finalist this season is once again Ozuna. Now, he’s up against Shohei Ohtani. It might be some of the stiffest competition for an award that anyone has.
But since he is a finalist nonetheless, we’ll be on the lookout.
The National League Rookie of the Year finalists have yet to be announced, so we mention this date. Starting pitcher Spencer Scwellenbach had a phenomenal rookie season, but he has stiff competition.
San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill has felt like a favorite for a bit as does Pittsburgh Pirates starter Paul Skenes. Shota Imanaga looked good in his first MLB season over in Chicago with the Cubs. The odds are stacked against him, but maybe he’ll be a surprise finalist.
Brian Snitker is not likely to be named the National League Manager of the Year. But we don’t even know the finalists yet, so until then, we mark the date.
Chris Sale is without a doubt the clear Cy Young frontrunner in the National League. He took home the first NL Triple Crown since 2011 – 18 wins, 2.35 ERA and 225 strikeouts.
Triple Crown winners win the award more often than not. He won Outstanding Pitcher of the Year at the Players Choice Awards. His peers like him. Now, it’s up to the writers to agree.
Again, maybe Ozuna is a finalist for the award. It looked certain at one point he would at least be one. But after going on a bit of a production slump down the stretch, it’s to be determined.
If he is, he’ll likely get the honor of finishing third behind Shohei Ohtani and New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor.
Atlanta, GA
Philadelphia Phillies lose fifth straight game to end homestand, swept by Atlanta Braves
Michael Harris II homered and had three hits as the streaking Atlanta Braves defeated the slumping Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 on Sunday night to complete a three-game sweep of their NL East rivals.
Ozzie Albies hit an RBI double and Austin Riley also drove in a run for the Braves, who have won five in a row and nine of 11. It was Atlanta’s first series sweep of at least three games at Philadelphia in 10 years.
Kyle Schwarber went deep for the Phillies, who have lost five straight and 10 of 13. They were outscored 56-33 on a 2-7 homestand against the Diamondbacks, Cubs and Braves, leaving Philadelphia 6 1/2 games behind first-place Atlanta in the division standings.
Raisel Iglesias escaped trouble in the ninth inning for his fifth save. Philadelphia put runners on first and second with one out, but Trea Turner struck out and Schwarber lined out to right field on an excellent running catch by Ronald Acuña Jr.
Tyler Kinley (3-0) pitched a scoreless sixth for the win.
Schwarber’s two-run shot in the first gave Philadelphia a 2-0 lead.
Harris homered leading off the third before the Braves went ahead in the fifth with three runs against rookie starter Andrew Painter (1-1) and lefty reliever Tim Mayza.
Painter was lifted after he opened the inning by allowing singles to Harris and Acuña. Mayza loaded the bases with a walk, and the Braves tied the game on Matt Olson’s groundout. Riley’s dribbler to third went for an RBI infield single, and Albies’ double to the left-field wall made it 4-2.
Riley saved at least one run while ending a Philadelphia threat in the bottom of the fifth with a stellar defensive play at third base.
Braves starter Grant Holmes allowed two runs in 4 2/3 innings.
On a chilly night, Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto sat out after leaving Saturday’s game with lower back tightness.
Up next
Braves: Begin a four-game series Monday night at Washington. RHP Bryce Elder (2-1, 0.77 ERA) opposes Nationals RHP Jake Irvin (1-2, 6.16).
Phillies: Open seven-game trip Monday night with the first of four games against the Cubs. RHP Aaron Nola (1-4, 4.03 ERA) faces Chicago RHP Colin Rea (2-0, 3.63).
Atlanta Hawks (46-36, sixth in the Eastern Conference) vs. New York Knicks (53-29, third in the Eastern Conference)
New York; Monday, 8 p.m. EDT
LINE: Knicks -5.5; over/under is 216.5
EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Knicks lead series 1-0
BOTTOM LINE: The New York Knicks host the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference first round with a 1-0 lead in the series. The Knicks won the last matchup 113-102 on Saturday, led by 28 points from Jalen Brunson. CJ McCollum led the Hawks with 26.
The Knicks are 35-17 in Eastern Conference games. New York has a 9-4 record in one-possession games.
The Hawks are 27-25 in Eastern Conference play. Atlanta is third in the league scoring 18.1 fast break points per game. McCollum leads the Hawks averaging 5.0.
The Knicks are shooting 47.8% from the field this season, 0.4 percentage points higher than the 47.4% the Hawks allow to opponents. The Hawks are shooting 47.4% from the field, 1.4% higher than the 46.0% the Knicks’ opponents have shot this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds for the Knicks. Brunson is averaging 19.9 points over the last 10 games.
Dyson Daniels is scoring 11.9 points per game and averaging 6.8 rebounds for the Hawks. Nickeil Alexander-Walker is averaging 21.3 points and 2.9 rebounds over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Knicks: 6-4, averaging 110.4 points, 40.7 rebounds, 26.2 assists, 8.4 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 49.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.9 points per game.
Hawks: 5-5, averaging 117.2 points, 43.5 rebounds, 27.7 assists, 8.4 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 47.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 112.0 points.
INJURIES: Knicks: Tyler Kolek: day to day (oblique), Mitchell Robinson: day to day (ankle), Karl-Anthony Towns: day to day (elbow).
Hawks: Jock Landale: out (ankle).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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