The 2026 season brings some new things for the Braves.
Walt Weiss is the new manager and the AJC has a new beat writer, Chad Bishop.
As spring training approaches, keep up with all the Braves news, big and small, in updates from Bishop and some of our other sports writers.
The Braves improve to 5-2 in the Grapefruit League with a 15-8 win over the Red Sox on Friday at CoolToday Park.
Ronald Acuña Jr. went 2-for-3 with a walk, hit a grand slam and two sole bases. Mike Yastrzemski went 3-for-3 with 3 RBIs and hit two homers.
The Braves travel to Sarasota on Saturday to face the Orioles. Spencer Strider is expected to be on the mound for the Braves.
Braves reliever Hunter Stratton allows on four hits in the seventh, including a two-run homer to Nathan Hickey.
Braves still leading the Red Sox 15-7 in the bottom of the eighth.
Perils of being on the beat during spring training is you may have to go conduct an interview while the game is ongoing. Such was the case today when the Braves were scoring 11 runs in the third inning.
A recap:
- Jurickson Profar RBI single
- Mike Yastrzemski RBI single
- Ozzie Albies two-run double
- Yastrzemski scores on a wild pitch
- Michael Harris RBI single
- Ronald Acuna grand slam
- Matt Olson home run
Yastrzemski also hit a solo homer in the fourth.
Braves leading 14-4 in the fifth.
Ceddanne Rafaela hits a two-run homer to center off Chris Sale in the top of the third, putting the Red Sox up 3-2.
The 400-foot shot came off a changeup over the heart of the plate.
Sale's day done after 2 2/3.
Mike Yastrzemski has his second homer of the spring, a 416-foot blast to right that landed in the stands. Yastrzemski gives the Braves a 2-1 lead with a ball that went 105.5 mph off the bat.
Braves starter Chris Sale allows a lead-off walk to begin the second, but then gets a grounder, lineout and strikeout of Vinny Capra on a 3-2, 77 mph slider, to end the frame.
Red Sox and Braves tied at 1-1 in the second.
Ronald Acuña Jr. leads off the first inning with a walk, steals second, steals third and scores on Jurickson Profar's sacrifice fly to left making it 1-1.
Chris Sale's first inning included a strikeout of Roman Anthony on a 97 mph fastball and a strikeout of Ceddanne Rafaela on a 79 mph slider.
Jarren Duran also crushed a solo homer, a ball that traveled 409 feet out to right field giving the Red Sox a 1-0 lead.
Hello from CoolToday Park.
Braves hosting the Red Sox at 1 p.m. today. Chris Sale on the mound and JR Ritchie is scheduled to follow him.
Yankees top the Braves 7-3 in a game that featured mostly Yankees regulars in the lineup and reserves/Triple-A guys playing for the Braves. A five-run first was all the Yankees really needed on a warm afternoon at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.
The Braves (4-2) return to CoolToday Park on Friday to face the Red Sox at 1 p.m. The team then travels to Sarasota on Saturday to play the Orioles — Spencer Strider will start that matchup.
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