Atlanta Braves
The trade, that is not a trade, but still might be a trade
A few hours before the start of last night’s ball game reports started to come in of a possible trade for  Jaime Garcia with the Twins. About game time, those rumors were confirmed, and Jaime Garcia was as good as a Minnesota Twin, even though he was still in the dugout with the team.
#Twins have reached agreement to acquire Jaime Garcia from #Braves, source confirms @Ken_Rosenthal report. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 20, 2017
Source confirms the #MNTwins are in the final stages of trading for Braves lefty Jaime Garcia. It's for a Minor Leaguer. Waiting on medicals
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) July 20, 2017
Well it turns out these minor details were not so minor. Braves beat writer Mark Bowman tweeted about two hours later that the trade was a lot further away than people were indicating.
The Braves' proposed deal to send Jaime Garcia to the Twins is not done. But there's still a chance it'll eventually be finalized.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) July 21, 2017
He then tweeted earlier this morning that the teams had not agreed on players or money that would be exchanged.
No, the two teams just haven't reached an agreement on the players and money that would be exchanged https://t.co/Rq9t5XE2X7
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) July 21, 2017
The Braves are intent on selling Garcia, as they should be with his contract coming to an end. Several teams are interested, so if this deal with the Twins cannot be finalized, expect a number of teams to come swooping in.
Also a game took place
The Braves coming off being swept by the Cubs began perhaps their toughest test against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It is a beginning of a four game stretch against one of the hottest baseball teams of all-time. The Dodgers are winners of 31 of their last 35 games and eleven straight. These are streaks baseball just does not see anymore, and Mike Foltynewicz was given the task to lead Atlanta to victory.
The Braves’ bats would give Folty some early run support with two first inning runs on four hits. The bats were do for a little wake up call after calling in sick the first three days of the week. The Dodgers would answer in the bottom half with a run of their own, but Foltynewicz would settle down after that. Brandon McCarthy-on the other hand- would not.
The Braves tacked on a run in a third and a crooked number in the fourth. McCarthy would exit the game after just four innings down 6-1. Folty was cruising until the sixth inning when Yasmani Grandal hit a two-run homer off the top of the fence to cut the lead to just three.
The Braves bullpen, though, would be up to the challenge, allowing no runs an just a single hit in the final 2.2 innings. Atlanta’s win snapped the Dodgers eleven game win streak.
It will be interesting to see who gets the start in tonight’s game. Jaime Garcia is still a Brave and scheduled to face undefeated Alex Wood. The former Braves has been fantastic in blue and white. We will see if Garcia  is still a Brave and pitching tonight or if they go with Aaron Blair, who looked to be in line to pitch in Garcia’s absence.
Atlanta United
The rivalry, that is not a rivalry, but still might be a rivalry.Â
Five Stripe soccer is finally back. Tonight at 7:00 Atlanta United will face off against Orlando City for the first match of a series that will decide who will be titled the Kings of the South. Some may consider it a rivalry, others may think that rivalries are created through experience. Either way, I think we can all agree it’ll be a fun match.