June 29, 2024; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves outfielder Adam Duvall (14) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the eighth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-USA TODAY Sports Adam Duvall led the National League in RBIs with 113 in 2021 and was an All-Star in 2016. But the 35-year-old outfielder, who also won a Gold Glove while helping the Atlanta Braves win a World Series three years ago, has struggled in 2024.
Do that, I really struggled.
Duvall is hitting just .167 this season and finally reached the 20-RBI mark in Saturday afternoon’s 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates when he led off the bottom of the 10th with an RBI single.
Duvall also saved a run in the sixth by making a leaping, scoring catch against the right-field wall on a sharp fly ball by Michael A. Taylor.
Atlanta hopes Duvall stays in the zone when it attempts to earn a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh on Sunday morning.
“It feels good to finally make the team,” Duvall told Bally Sports. “I’ve been working a little bit, so being able to do this feels good.”
Rookie right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach (1-3, 5.40 ERA) will make his sixth career major league start for the Braves on Sunday. He’ll face Pirates left-hander Bailey Falter (3-6, 4.00 ERA), who is looking to snap a four-game losing streak.
Falter is 1-1 with a 6.41 ERA in four career starts against Atlanta. He has made five starts since his last victory, which came at home against the Braves on May 24, when he allowed three runs on six hits in 7 1/3 innings.
Falter is 0-4 with a 6.63 ERA in four starts in June and most recently allowed five runs (four earned) and five hits in four innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Monday. All five runs Falter allowed came in the fourth inning.
“I was a little tired,” Falter admitted after his performance against Cincinnati. “I didn’t make a lot of throws. I threw a lot of balls in the first inning compared to the first three innings. So they took advantage of it. »
Still, Pirates manager Derek Shelton had reason to be encouraged.
“I think the first time he played (in the lineup), he did a really good job of running the fastball up the zone, in the inner half of the plate,” Shelton said. “It looked like in the fourth inning, the ball just ran away up the middle, and because of that, we saw the hard contact.”
Schwellenbach, 24, Nebraska’s 2021 second-round pick, had a slightly better June than Falter, going 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA in four starts.
Schwellenbach is coming off Monday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals, a loss in which he allowed four runs on eight hits over five innings. This came six days after he earned his first major league victory, helping Atlanta defeat the Detroit Tigers on June 18.
MLB Pipeline lists Schwellenbach as the No. 3 prospect in the Braves organization. Sunday will mark his first career appearance against the Pirates.
Pittsburgh will try to end its struggles at Truist Park, which opened in 2017. Since then, the Pirates are 5-19 when visiting Atlanta.
–Field level media
