Atlanta Braves
If there was a question about whether the Braves could bounce back after a devastating loss last night, they were answered loudly by the Braves bats Saturday afternoon. They teed off on Stephen Strasburg early, starting in the second inning the Kurt Suzuki opened up the scoring with and RBI single. Teheran helped himself later in the inning stretching the lead to 2-0.
That would not be the only time Teheran would help himself out with the bat. He came up again with the bases loaded in the third and smoked a shot over Strasburg’s head to knock in two more and stretch the lead to 6-0. Strasburg would exit the game after the third inning. He was hit with a line drive off the bat of Nick Markakis earlier in the inning. It is unclear if that is why he exited the game, but either way it was another disappointing start for Strasburg against the Braves.
It's the 12th time Strasburg hasn't reached the 4th inning in 174 career starts. 5 of those have come against the Braves.
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) July 8, 2017
The Braves would keep on adding runs, and Julio Teheran brought his A+ stuff on the mound. His control was fantastic, getting ahead of nearly every batter and walking only two. He left the game after seven shut out innings, with the Braves leading 8-0.
Atlanta would keep adding on runs, and Matt Adams capped off the blowout with a three-run home in the ninth. It was Adams 14th home run of the year. The Braves bullpen would also do what they failed to do yesterday: shut down the Nationals. They preserved the shutout, as the Braves became the first team all season to shut out Washington.
Atlanta Hawks
One very big decision was made yesterday: the Hawks parted way with Tim Hardaway Jr. The Hawks had until late Saturday to match the Knicks offer sheet, but early Saturday afternoon Adrian Wojnarowski reported it was not going to happen.
Atlanta will not match New York's $71M offer sheet to Tim Hardaway Jr., but official notification still hours away, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 8, 2017
It does not exactly look great that the Hawks traded away a first-round pick for THJ to the very team he will be returning to next season. Although, it does not look good for the Knicks either, who traded away that first-round pick for Derrick Rose, whose rights they renounced to make room for Hardaway Jr..
At the end of the day, Atlanta wanted to bring back Hardaway, but that was contingent on it being a team friendly deal. Four years and $71 million is far from that. It’s tough to see a player who had improved so much in his short time walk out the door, but the Hawks made the tough and right decision to move on.
Atlanta United
Atlanta United GK Brad Guzan earned man of the match yesterday after a stellar performance for the USMNT in the Gold Cup. His seven saves allowed Panama to only find the net one time and was a massive factor in earning a point for the USA.
https://twitter.com/ussoccer/status/883838035460280320
With the recent injury of Alec Kann, United fans will be happy to see this guy in the Five Stripes before long.