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00:0062 games and so it's a marathon not a sprint we know that so we're ready for
00:04tonight and just ready to get going another no coffee machines or whatever
00:07no espresso but the energy here is incredible how would you describe the
00:11energy of this Royals team well that's the thing that you can control is the
00:14energy you bring every single night to the ballpark so for us we've made a real
00:18emphasis on that of making sure we show up ready to go every night you know
00:22physically sometimes things aren't gonna go the way you want them to but but
00:25you know emotionally and energy wise you can bring it every night so that's
00:28what we're focused on good luck in 2026 have fun appreciate it thanks guys
00:34well Vinny said the goal is to play more than 162 team 62 games as a team Vinny was
00:41healthy last year and played in 160 games and ended up with 113 RBI six most in
00:50the major league here's a starting lineup tonight against a tough lefty in the
00:54Royals as an organization going back to the beginning of Eric Hosmer's career is
00:59very familiar with now 36 year old Chris Sale who is an opening day starter for the seventh
01:06time in his career and he's well on his way to Cooperstown right and I say that
01:10confidently because back in 2010 when the Chicago White Sox drafted Chris Sale he
01:14started out the bullpen in 2011 on he went to be a starting pitcher and he has
01:18solidified himself as not only today's one of today's greatest pitchers in the game but today's
01:232010 era of starting pitching he is at the top of the list all right let's take a look at
01:28StatCast 3D
01:29powered by Google Cloud and this is what Chris Sale looks like at least last year yeah you see the
01:34sliders at the top usually you see the fastball especially with a guy throwing 96 to 98 miles an
01:38hour but Chris Sale this slider that he throws it's all angle it looks like it's coming from first base
01:43but the slider is historically one of the better pitchers pitches major league baseball has seen he can
01:49change the angle with it Ryan he can drop down a little more to create more sweep for the lefties
01:53he's really learned how to get righties out with the two he does it all with the slider fastball at
01:5799
01:57he can get up to it he's really impressive well they're hoping he will lead the way the Braves
02:04just like the Royals had injuries to their entire starting rotation last year they use 19 different
02:10starting pitchers and so they're hoping the pitching is going to bounce back for me when you
02:16think about the Braves the first thing you think about is pitching and it was not there last year for
02:21Brian Snitker and now Walt Weiss takes over in his first year and first of all they have five
02:28potential starters not just five pitchers but five potential starters beginning the year on the
02:34injured list Dan it's frustrating when you can't control certain things and injuries to a certain
02:39extent you really can't control it it seemed like last year before the Braves even got started
02:42they really got hit with some tough injuries some tough adversity just in general as a whole
02:46and really never bounced back from it so again opening day the optimism's there everyone's
02:51oh no trying to get that first one on the board trying to get the first hits on the board
02:55trying
02:55to get all that stuff and just settle into this environment kind of like myself right I'm feeling
02:59good now I'm feeling settled
03:03and we see a packed house here it was a disappointing season overall for the Braves they were 10 games
03:10under 500 and just like every other team they want to get off to a good start and especially after
03:15last year Walt Weiss was in his eighth year last season as the Braves bench coach they started the
03:22season 0 and 7 and finished 10 games below 500 and meanwhile the Royals man they just fought it all
03:29season long they weren't hitting in the first half injuries to the entire starting rotation and their
03:35position players I still think it was a huge accomplishment last year to hold it together and the Royals
03:41finished above 500 yeah like we said in spring training you're going to learn about new guys because
03:45there's going to be more opportunities we saw Noah Cameron what he could do did he get that would he
03:50get up gotten that same amount of looks last year we don't know but it creates the opportunities and I
03:54think now heading into this year like Cole Reagan's we mentioned he's going to have a fresh arm he's ready
03:59to go and Vinny mentioned it with Joel pregame these guys plan on playing baseball past October and this
04:04is a great sign especially with Cole being ready to roll with that arm
04:08and it's all going to begin with the 2026 world baseball classic MVP Michael Garcia
04:17I'll tell you what Ryan I don't know why we haven't scored yet I'm fired up I know the boys
04:21are
04:21they're starting to roll out here right now it's time for some real season regular baseball baby
04:26Royals fans were chanting MVP Royals fans here tonight in Atlanta as he was jogging up the field
04:32after adding practice and a lot of things have come together for him after a disappointing year
04:38in 2024 he had a career season last year the Royals signed him to a five-year contract extension all
04:45of
04:45that before he was MVP and not only physically I mean you can see the difference in his body the
04:50lower half
04:51it's it's there he's a grown man he has a grown man body now but now when you see the
04:55maturity his approach
04:56the approach Mike Kell has created for himself has really really separated himself into one of the better games
05:01today's better hitters in the game and we're going to break that down a little bit to Ryan but
05:05Chris Sale right here this is the guy we got
05:09he had a freak injury last year two years ago he won a gold glove and then he tried to
05:14make a gold
05:15glove play last year and ended up cracking a rib on his left side diving for a ground ball you
05:21don't
05:21hear about that very often from a pitcher so his numbers were great but he only made 20 starts yeah
05:26and you don't want a guy like with numbers like this Chris Sale you don't want a guy diving off
05:29the
05:29mound you want him healthy coming out of the draft 2010 there was a lot of question with Chris Sale
05:34and
05:34his ability to stay healthy he has turned in again like we said on his way to Cooperstown he's
05:39turned in a lot of great seasons as an elite starting pitcher in 2024 with Cy Young here with the
05:45Atlanta Braves is just well on his way to Cooperstown Ryan I'll say it again if there was one area
05:49that
05:49the Braves tried last year was their defense yeah the good thing about Atlanta the cool thing about
05:55the Atlanta Braves within the baseball world is these guys are known the position players to play 162 games
06:00I mean you see right now in that infield Matt Olsen he's the modern day Ironman still got a long
06:05way
06:05to go to catch up to Cal Ripken but these guys something I respect about the Atlanta Braves position
06:09players they probably tell us I'll play 162 games right
06:15the home plate umpire is the crew chief Doug Eddings in season number 29
06:22and it's exciting for the umpires as well and Doug Eddings in a moment gets to say play ball for
06:28the first time
06:28this year Mike Molenski is the umpire at first Gabe Morales is at second and Emil Jimenez is at third
06:40and here is the first pitch of 2026 and it's a
06:45fastball for a strike on Michael Garcia
06:48we are so excited about our partnership with Major League Baseball Royals TV we're going to have a lot
06:55a lot of new resources and access which you've seen already
07:01no balls two strikes and with that comes new graphics and if you look at the bottom right hand corner
07:09of the
07:09screen just to the left of the Royals and Braves logos you see two white blocks and those would be
07:16the
07:16two ABS challenges Michael tries to go the other way on two strikes and fouls it away they are affectionately
07:23known so
07:24far as the chicklets if you're old enough to remember that gum that the Royals and Braves begin the game
07:32with two opportunities
07:36they keep the challenges if they challenge correctly but opportunities to challenge balls and strikes
07:44here's the slider and it looked like Mike L. saw it all the way yeah that's a good game
07:48play at the Royals especially with two strikes you want to try and spit not swing at the slider as
07:52much as you can because there's just not much success off of it so again this is the game plan
07:56pregame we
07:57want to spit not swing at that slider mid game you always make the adjustment so let's make Chris
08:01let's make sale land that strider that slider for a strike before going to offer it
08:06setting up inside and it's out over the plate and Michael Garcia begins two thousand twenty six
08:13on first base keep that positive energy going Michael coming off a strong wbc the last year for Michael has
08:20really changed his life but let's go set the tone for a good twenty twenty six ninety six at the
08:25top of
08:25the zone with two strikes now we got bobby wick junior coming up with the guy on first exactly what
08:31we planned on
08:42and junior gets a first pitch fastball and he hits it right to do bond it's short and that's what
08:47it takes
08:48to get bobby wick junior on a ground ball double play a sharp one hopper to one of the infielders
08:53hit it hard and I like the approach let's be aggressive on Chris sale he's going to attack us
08:57and he's going to attack us especially with Mike L a couple fastballs early fastball right over the heart of
09:01the plate middle away ninety five
09:02bobby puts a good swing on it unfortunately just right at the shortstop
09:08still love the swing from junior though stay right there they'll start falling
09:16so two down to one of the new royals lane thomas
09:20who bats third he hasn't done much of that in his career this is just the
09:2617th time and he has batted third but the royals are not only looking at the lineup against chris sale
09:34but
09:34they're looking at potential matchups with their bench later in the game yeah a couple guys we picked
09:40up in the offseason to protect the start or I'm sorry to protect against left handed pitching lane thomas
09:46is one of them it's all about health with lane thomas we talked about in spring he's healthy he's going
09:50to be a guy that
09:54is still running it up there at ninety five one ball two strikes on lane thomas who has always done
09:59well
10:00against lefties these are his career numbers so the splits speak for themselves
10:05and just three years ago lane thomas
10:08hit twenty eight home runs
10:13very few guys play one hundred sixty two I know we mentioned Matt Olsen he did it
10:17but now you're breaking down lineups against left handed pitching and against right handed pitching
10:21and we mentioned the royals went out got reinforcements lane thomas and marty
10:25and what better test game one you're going up against one of the best in the game right now
10:33fouls away a slider just a couple of off seasons ago lane thomas hit a grand slam against the game's
10:40best lefty right now tarik skuble yeah on the biggest stage we remember in october in cleveland
10:45and terry skuble was not giving up many hits if any barrels at all but
10:48play put a good swing on them and I think the whole baseball world it caught the attention of that
10:53place
10:53very close to a pitch clock violation instead it's a called third strike
11:01the royals got good swings from Garcia and junior but it's a one two three inning with Cole
11:06Reagan's taking the mound for the royals
11:10no score bottom of the first and here's ronald acuna jr and the braves against Cole reagan's
11:16and among other things the braves had a down year offensively and a lot of that had to do
11:21with injuries and a lot of their regulars spent time on the injured list not matt olsen of course with
11:27his long consecutive game streak but when this lineup is healthy it's as good as any in the national
11:32league the braves also happen to be the oldest team in the major leagues when it comes to
11:37average age and we'll see how they fare against cole reagan's who was on the injured list twice
11:42last year and made just 13 starts with big strikeout numbers
11:47and his first pitch he comes right after him with a fastball i love it i love the aggressiveness you
11:52know ronald we watched wbc ronald acuna jr is ready to go from pitch one but so was cole reagan's
11:58that's
11:58what i'm talking about lefty on the ground of vinnie two pitches and one down in the bottom of the
12:06first
12:09love what i'm seeing we see vinnie p over there the pass watch at first base
12:12we get it vinnie you're flexible we saw you stretching all wbc but let's look at the royals
12:16defense right here as a whole left side is the strong side ryan this is probably the best left
12:22side of the infield in all of baseball bobby witt jr shortstop the united states of america michael garcia
12:27they're out there to prove the world at the best left side another ground ball and how about three
12:33pitches and two outs drake baldwin grounds out to bobby witt jr so the royals are not going to put
12:42any
12:43limits on cole reagan's when it comes to innings not just innings for the season but innings per game but
12:48they're also going to be smart and they feel like the bullpen is deep enough that if they need to
12:53piggyback
12:54occasionally they will so i bring that up because cole reagan's who has the ability to strike anyone
13:00out will take an inning like this three pitches two outs and keep that pitch count down he sure will
13:07and you just want to be smart it's not that cole can't throw 200 plus innings it's just we want
13:11him
13:11fresh we want him ready to go we want him at his best when we're at our best and that's
13:16late in the season
13:17that second half push trying to go into october baseball so when you have depth that gives you the
13:22ability to work out like we're talking about cole reagan's work his schedule out and not overuse him
13:27that way he's drained by the second half
13:30ozzy albies and reagan's stumbles with his follow-through fortunately he's smiling
13:37royals had a brief scare after the final out of the top of the first michael garcia stumbled
13:45going into the royals dugout and then matt quattrero came out and had a conversation with home plate umpire
13:51doug eddings as if he was going to make a change so it was easy to assume the worst and
13:58then we all had
13:58a collective sigh of relief when michael bounded out of the dugout and took his position at third base
14:06joel has more on that yeah it was just a few feet from me and and i don't even know
14:11if i would say
14:12bounded ryan i think everything is gingerly at this point if you keep your eye on him in between pitches
14:16he's bouncing up and down and and kind of testing that thing out he immediately got treatment
14:21so we'll see what happens collins goes into the corner and that is gone just inside the foul pole
14:47i'll see obviously good hitter this is a change up to one just leaves it up in the zone a
14:51little bit
14:52that's the problem when you throw 97 to 99 miles an hour sometimes you leave the change up up speeds
14:56him up a little bit you can see ozzy caught it out front pulls it for a poolside homer one
15:01run can't
15:01beat us it's all good the bigger picture it looks like cole riggins is healthy no hiccups from that trip
15:06we can exhale from that
15:09back with 96 for a strike on matt olsen
15:14matt quattrero saw his third baseman all-star third baseman tumble down the stairs
15:20and his ace stumble on the mound and i tell you what right i don't know if i've ever
15:25ever exhaled after a home run given up to the opposite team right here but our ace our third baseman
15:31we're good now we're good we'll take that one nothing it's okay we need these guys healthy
15:39one and two on matt olsen who had a big year last year with
15:43twenty nine home runs ninety five rbis and
15:48for a fourth consecutive season in atlanta he played all 162 games
15:57two balls two strikes and that takes us to our first hot corner of the night
16:04he has a braves record
16:07seven hundred eighty two consecutive games
16:11and last year
16:13in the middle of august he passed
16:16braves hall of famer dale murphy who was honored on the field
16:20before the game tonight and probably got the biggest ovation out of all the former braves
16:25only one thousand eight hundred and fifty more games to catch calories
16:29only that's it
16:31and part of that appreciation to ryan is facing a guy like cole rigg is this left on left matchup
16:36for matt olsen
16:37this is a day and age now where we mentioned not many guys play the 162
16:41so when you get these tough left on left matchups you really respect the guy like matt olsen for taking
16:45these at-bats
16:47and that's pole to the hole
16:50three two pitch
16:52and
16:52perfect timing there hives i mean
16:55get a lefty hanging in there like that on a slider yeah that's why you play every day yeah you
16:59sure do you
17:00usually want to be approached direction left center because look it's going to lead to that out front catch in
17:04contact with the slider
17:05and usually with park and a good swing stay inside the ball like that get firm contact for a base
17:11hit
17:11with a guy like matt olsen will keep him in the yard with a single especially with two outs
17:20so austin riley bats and you can see olsen had a smile on his face and even someone as accomplished
17:26as he is it's sure nice to get that first hit out of the way dale swam our hitting coach
17:30used to say
17:31get the first one out of the way first and foremost but if you're going to be 162 play every
17:35single day
17:36there's certain guys you get base hits off of there's certain guys you try and get a little power stroke
17:40off of
17:40matt olsen cole reagan he's just trying to base hit him and he's happy with that one hit to start
17:44the night
17:46here's another injured brave from last year austin riley played in just 102 games he had some
17:51issues with an abdominal muscle which he eventually had surgery on
17:59and now salve is reminding cole to breathe and settle down falling behind three balls and no strikes
18:18and that is high for a walk so with two outs and nobody on the braves get a home run
18:23a single and now a walk
18:28and that's okay there's not much damage there 3-0 count you don't want to give in austin riley
18:323-0 is green light nowadays especially for a guy like austin riley it's no offense to eli white here
18:37but i think cole reagan likes this matchup way better than just grooving a 3-0 fastball right down the
18:42better to austin riley so now it's time to bear down
18:48now curveball is high and salve decides it's time to have a little chat
18:53so this was an inning that began with two outs on three pitches two ground balls
19:01and then the home run the single on the walk and now his next pitch will be number 20.
19:07smart visit by salve timely visit like you said right just kind of a weird inning
19:11cole looks like breaking something getting off this rhythm a little bit so let's get out there
19:15slow everything down let's reset we got two outs it's only one run limit the damage here we got to
19:21score
19:21one to win anyways
19:27line foul well i assume you mostly answered this question but having played first base and
19:34coming over and jogging over like vinnie did what are you typically hearing from
19:40a catcher like salve to the pitcher there just wanted to get on the same page and i think vinnie
19:44was
19:44thinking the same thing hey let's just take a deep breath let's exhale let's settle in
19:49stuff's been a little weird but it's okay it's the first inning we're only down one
19:52you want to limit the damage you don't want to continue on
19:54that uncomfortable feeling next thing you know it's three nothing
19:57it's okay we mentioned this is a veteran squad we know one runs not going to beat us
20:00let's get out of here and get back to hit
20:06it's okay jammed in with a fastball and now michael on defense throws on the run in time so it's
20:11a 22 pitch
20:12inning the braves get one coming up nine-time all-star salvador perez against nine-time all-star chris sale
20:22royals baseball coverage is powered by major league baseball
20:27baseball and hozzie albies not only got his first hit in the first inning
20:31he hit his first home run so he's got his first run scored in his first rbi
20:35a couple of old
20:40rivals here and this is at bat number 69 for salve
20:46against chris sale
20:47the only pitcher he has faced more is another
20:51former white socks lefty jose quintana
20:55and if you're wondering about sale
20:58and who he has faced the most
21:00it is a former royal
21:03I'll see this Escobar okay okay
21:06I'm sure a lot of first pitch swings too from Alcides huh
21:14fouled away by salve who had
21:17a 30 home run 100 rbi season last year and with one swing in philadelphia
21:25it took care of 300 career home runs and 1 000 career rbis
21:37lays off the slider two and two it's a good take good take from salve right there you want to
21:41zone that
21:41slider ideally you don't want to swing at it you want to chase but salve solos started middle went down
21:47and look at salve right here Ryan he's catching up to the all-time go george brett
21:51salve just continues to impress getting better and better throughout his career and just moving up the all-time royal
21:56ranks
21:5815 home runs this year and
22:00he'll be the royals home run king and there's a shot into center field and
22:05while the royals only sent three to the plate
22:08in the first inning that's three of four hitters with good swings against chris sale beautiful piece of hitting here
22:14from el capitan
22:15salve you want to see him up stay off that slider what the fastball up two strikes at 97
22:21doesn't matter how old salvador perez is he's always going to be able to hit a fastball
22:30and now vinnie who bats fifth to a sail on the mound
22:38in the end of the game on the mound
22:38I mentioned Vinny's career high one hundred sixty games played last year
22:43that's twenty nine more than any other season and with that career highs in everything including
22:50thirteen more home runs
22:53and sixteen more RBI's than any other season
22:58You climb over the 30 home run
23:00rank and 100 RBI eyes and you're
23:01getting into some elite
23:02territory especially at
23:04Kauffman Stadium I know
23:05everyone's excited for the
23:06fences moving in but the prior
23:07years for Vinny to have 30 and
23:09100 plus is really really
23:11impressive Ryan two balls one
23:19strike and I'll add one more
23:20impressive number to his season
23:22last year after 30 games last
23:25season he was hitting one
23:26seventy seven and he bounced
23:29back and it just seemed like he
23:30didn't look back from that point
23:31on Vinny made it a point to
23:33mention to everyone I want to
23:34come into spring training earlier
23:35this year and try and get off to
23:36a good start what I respect about
23:38Vinny P is he goes and evaluates
23:40his seasons watch out Vinny didn't
23:44react like he got hit but Doug
23:46Eddings says that he was and
23:48Walt Weiss has his hand in the
23:50air right now wanting his replay
23:51coordinator to take another look
23:53at it and they will know
23:56not challenge and the Royals will
23:57have two on with nobody out yeah
23:59I felt like you heard a
24:00different sound maybe it hit the
24:01jersey we'll see the replay here
24:02fastball in sales got the natural
24:04run looks like it barely got the
24:06jersey maybe a button Doug
24:09Eddings is locked in day one and
24:12he pointed to the elbow I did not
24:14hit the elbow but the Braves
24:17didn't see anything clear and
24:19convincing that might be with
24:22Vinny's joking with Damon Hollins
24:23over at first base about either
24:25I didn't feel it or I don't know
24:26what just happened but we got
24:28first and second no outs let's
24:29capitalize boys and now another
24:33new Royal Starling Marte and he's
24:34thinking about a bunt and why not
24:36the Braves infield was playing
24:38all the way back this is a player
24:42with 14 years a big league
24:44experience quality big league
24:47experience must have listened to
24:48Monty pregame get back to playing
24:50some team offense right there
24:51showing a bunt he knows this is an
24:53ace we got to find a way to get
24:54any type of runs we can especially
24:56in a situation like this two guys
24:58on no outs so here we are in the
25:07second inning and the Royals have
25:08their first at bat hitting with
25:11runners in scoring position held
25:17away by Marte and everything went
25:19right for the Royals two years
25:21ago they led the American League
25:23hitting with runners in scoring
25:24position and then got off to a
25:26terrible start last year they were
25:2828 hitting with runners in
25:30scoring position in the first
25:31half but look at what they did in
25:33the second half and Matt
25:33Quattrero is always quick to
25:35point that out that it wasn't a
25:36bad year overall in that area
25:38just a bad first half yeah one
25:41ball two strikes an offense you
25:43recognize you watch these games
25:44in October that's where we plan
25:45on being the postseason that's
25:47how you win games you
25:48manufacture off a guy like Chris
25:49Sale an ace this is how you win
25:51these close games you got to
25:52find ways to manufacture runs
25:54you're not just going to go up
25:55there and slug and barrel up
25:57Chris Sale all throughout the
25:58yard all night you got to find
25:59ways with opportunities move
26:01guys on keep the line moving
26:02and find ways to produce called
26:07third strike Marte pauses but
26:10keeps his hand off of his
26:11helmet and sale strikes out his
26:15second both looking nasty slider
26:18here from sale this move so much
26:19and you see that starts almost
26:21in the left handed batter's box
26:22in the middle of it comes all
26:24the way across but I feel you
26:25Ryan it looked a little low and
26:28again this new ABS challenge
26:29system it's going to be an
26:30adjustment and I don't know how
26:31teams are going to handle the
26:32situation it looked like Marte
26:34was thinking about it right
26:35there certainly a situation
26:36worthy of tapping the helmet
26:42so it's Jonathan India hoping for
26:44a bounce back season with two on
26:45one out that's outside for ball
26:50one no better way to set the tone
26:53for a bounce back season than a
26:55big knock here runners in
26:56scoring position let's put one
26:58in the gap here off Chris Sale
26:59and just ride that on out for
27:00one sixty two Jonathan India
27:09two balls and no strikes this
27:12is good stuff continue to zone
27:14in and hunt your zone fellas we
27:16see twenty eight pitches
27:17already he had a quick first
27:18inning Chris Sale as we
27:20continue to say is an ace in
27:22this league so if we can get
27:23that pitch count up and dive
27:24into the bullpen early that's
27:26still that's the small win we're
27:27stacking up but we still need
27:28to score some runs here three
27:30balls no strikes sale dropped
27:33down a little bit lower with
27:34that pitch key home is what we
27:37say right here Ryan you are
27:38if you're swinging you are
27:40looking at the perfect spot
27:41possible Chris Sale looks like
27:43he's getting a little
27:43uncomfortable right now and if
27:45you walk up below the bases for
27:46the guy on deck ninety eight
27:48percentile chase rate he does
27:49not swing at balls and he didn't
27:52even take the bat off of his
27:53shoulder so that strikeout ends
27:55up being a big play in the
27:57inning because Sale has walked
27:59two and now they're loaded up
28:01with one out and a big spot for
28:03Isaac Collins to make a first
28:06impression yeah like we
28:07mentioned first impression
28:08it's a new day and age ladies
28:10and gentlemen and we look at
28:11these new stats and new numbers
28:12and we look at chase
28:13percentage because Isaac
28:15Collins does not swing outside
28:16the zone this is a key reason
28:18why the Royals really liked his
28:19bat and he was in that
28:20server trade because when you
28:22can make the pitcher
28:23especially in a situation like
28:24this earned strikes earned
28:26pitches quality pitches in the
28:28zone you're going to continue
28:29to put pressure on him and we
28:31see it right here six in the
28:32MLB he can walk it's almost
28:35like now Ryan if you can draw
28:37four balls draw walk that is
28:40telling these new numbers now
28:41that that is sustainable to
28:43getting a single it's a lot
28:44we'll get into it let's go
28:46ahead and put up three or four
28:47we'll get into it at the six
28:47or seven good plan stays with
28:54the slider on one on Collins
28:56who played in eleven games for
28:58the Brewers two years ago and
29:00then one hundred thirty last
29:03year he's got some power he's a
29:06switch hitter he had nine home
29:09runs and sixteen stolen bases on
29:14the ground to short the Braves
29:15have already turned one double
29:16play and now they have two and
29:19Chris Sale pumps his fist in
29:22celebration as he gets out of
29:23the bases loaded and one out
29:30Joe Goldberg back down by the
29:31dugout Michael Garcia back at
29:33third base he was down below for
29:35a while and then came back up so
29:37I've got to assume there was some
29:38treatment or whatever might have
29:39been going on and then everything
29:41seemed to be fine when he came
29:42back up I talked to him earlier
29:43today I said when do you move
29:45past the world baseball classic in
29:47the adrenaline of winning it for
29:49Venezuela and he said I still have
29:51not done that I haven't gotten
29:54past that yet he said and he said
29:57you won't see the same Mike held
29:58during the regular season in
30:00terms of that off the charts
30:01energy because it was just
30:03different in the world baseball
30:04classic he said that is something
30:06I got to move on now and focus
30:07on Royals and I am that you will
30:10see when we get to the post
30:11season he said let's just win the
30:14World Series this year I also
30:16guys mentioned to Bobby with
30:17Junior what was said by Michael
30:20about all that adrenaline from
30:22the world baseball classic and
30:23Bobby said I've moved on but good
30:25for him we'll take that energy
30:26from him well it's one of the
30:29oldest baseball cliches is it not
30:33baseball is a marathon not a
30:35sprint but the WBC is a sprint
30:38is an absolute sprint big game
30:40big game feel I always said
30:41Michael Garcia's cousin Alcides
30:43Escobar who to play the New York
30:46Yankees Boston Red Sox and every
30:48major rival that we could possibly
30:49have St. Louis Cardinals I'll
30:51see this Esquire would hit 600
30:52because he gets up for all those
30:54big games opening day has that
30:56same big game feel but after
30:58opening day you kind of said it
30:59cruise control you're ready to
31:00go for another hundred sixty
31:01hundred sixty one games plus so I
31:03understand exactly what Michael
31:04saying good to see you help me
31:06don't go scare me like that you
31:07call calm it down boys and he
31:11checks the scouting report on
31:12Jonah Heim new to the Braves
31:16switch hitting catcher and he
31:19had a big year in 2023 when the
31:24Rangers won the World Series but
31:26then tailed off the next two
31:27years and they just simply non
31:28tendered him they just let him
31:30walk and the Braves have their
31:34regular catcher veteran Sean
31:36Murphy is on the injured list
31:38recovering from right hip surgery
31:40from last year so Haim gets
31:43another shot with Atlanta it's a
31:48little bit high similar situations
31:50for both teams with the catcher
31:52position I'm not going to
31:53compare anybody to Salvador
31:54Perez he's in his own league but
31:55they got multiple catchers three
31:57catchers on the roster the young
31:59Baldwin can hit we know that kind
32:00of like young Carter Jensen on
32:01our side so it's interesting to
32:04see the makeup how that roster
32:05is constructed because when you
32:06got two to three catchers it's
32:07going to be a little different
32:08than just a traditional backup
32:09catcher starting catcher on
32:11there so similar roster breakdowns
32:12for both teams close Salvi agrees
32:23with the call he does not ask for
32:25a challenge and Reagan's walks
32:27his second part of the reason
32:31that's a good example there why
32:33you want to put the challenges
32:34in Salvador's hands the catcher's
32:36position because Cole Reagan's
32:37as you see right there you got
32:38to react after the pitch the
32:40pitchers get emotional you don't
32:41know if he's going to react to
32:42tap the hat real quick and
32:43challenge so I think it's a smart
32:44move early on let's just put
32:45that in Salvador's possession
32:47let's worry about Salvador only
32:49handling the challenges that's
32:50it and let's go over the rules
32:54of the ABS challenge system
32:57presented by T-Mobile each team
32:59begins with two challenges you
33:00retain it if you're successful
33:01just like the game challenges
33:03only the pitcher catcher or
33:06batter may challenge it and it
33:08has to come immediately to
33:14the dugout or anyone else in
33:16fact most stadiums in broadcast
33:20booths for that matter you
33:21might well you don't notice this
33:24at home because you have the
33:25strike zone on your screen we
33:26do not up here in the booth
33:29Major League Baseball went above
33:31and beyond with the ABS system
33:34and with so many fans in the
33:36ballpark so many television
33:37monitors in the ballpark so
33:38many broadcasts going on that
33:40there was as best they can no
33:42virtual way for someone to signal
33:45to the hitter hey you should
33:46challenge or signal to the
33:47catcher you should challenge
33:48yeah we got to protect the
33:49integrity of the game first
33:50and foremost but it's just
33:52going to be a constant
33:52adjustment all year long as
33:54far as how our team's going to
33:56treat using the challenges when
33:58you're watching opening night
33:59the other night with Aaron
34:00Judge he's up nobody on it's a
34:02one one count could have been a
34:03strike they called it a ball all
34:05of a sudden it's a two one
34:06count versus a one two count and
34:07Aaron Judge a guy like him can
34:09change the game but one swing
34:09at the bat so initially you're
34:11thinking maybe I save him for
34:12runners in scoring position or
34:13guys on base but you're watching
34:15that game live and I'm telling
34:16myself I would use it right now
34:18on Aaron Judge because he can
34:19change the game with one swing
34:20so it's going to be a constant
34:21adjustment as we're watching
34:22baseball year long as far as
34:24when to use these challenges
34:25when's a good time when's a
34:26bad time three balls and two
34:30strikes on Harris the runner at
34:32first and one out and Harris
34:35fouls it away and we'll remind
34:36you again as you look at the
34:37what we call the score bug down
34:39in the bottom right hand part
34:40of your screen two rectangle
34:43boxes next to the team logos
34:46represent the challenges
34:47remaining for each team that's
34:50right also looking at the
34:51runner at first base usually
34:52three one three two are must run
34:53counts unless third baseman
34:55shuts it down all the defense
34:56was aware that he's not running
34:57there so changes the style of
34:59your defense see Bobby with
35:01Jonathan India everyone's in
35:02communication here because you
35:04got to know where someone's
35:05going to be a certain place
35:06certain situations so good
35:07communication there for the
35:08Royals defense to tell him
35:09hey he's not running three
35:10two let's hold our ground good
35:20pitch that registered as a
35:23slider it sure looked like a
35:24changeup so Reagan's after the
35:26walk strikes out Harris oh it
35:29was a slider yeah it's opening
35:31day Ryan and maybe he's working
35:32on something new in spring
35:33training Michael Harris is
35:34going to go back to the
35:35hitting coach right now the
35:36dugout say man I don't know if
35:37we had this in our scout
35:38report because gold must have
35:40worked on stuff in spring
35:40training that's a good pitch
35:42right there and when you look at
35:43Cole Reagan's he's got the
35:44change up and you've got a
35:45weapon like that to get left
35:46hander hitters out I love you
35:48know Acuna takes inside that
35:50was one of the first things
35:51that I recognize about Cole
35:54Reagan's after he came over in
35:55the trade that when he's on a
35:58roll from start to start his
35:59pitch mix can vary quite a bit
36:03isn't typically pitch to a
36:05pattern I mean you're going to
36:06see fastballs from him you're
36:07going to see change ups from
36:08him but the percentages and
36:11how much he uses the slider and
36:12how much he uses the curve
36:13ball is going to change from
36:14game to game no question and I
36:15got to watch that I don't say
36:16Cole Hamels because he looks
36:17so similar to Cole Hamels
36:19it's scary but that's the
36:21plan right you not only do you
36:23have to have a good mix of
36:25pitches but at the same time
36:26you've got to be able to
36:27operate through a scouting
36:28report what does that mean if
36:30Ronald Acuna can't hit the
36:31fastball up and in that's an
36:33example because Ronald you can
36:34hit pretty much everything but
36:35if it's an example if he can't
36:36hit fastballs in and then the
36:38guy on deck Matt Olsen can't
36:39hit change ups away Drake
36:41Balkman whatever it is you got
36:42to be willing to execute
36:43throughout that lineup and
36:44Cole Reagan's could do that
36:45with all his pitches nothing
36:46fancy there he just reaches
36:47back and throws it right by
36:49Acuna so that's a three
36:51strikeout scoreless hitting for
36:52Reagan's.
36:56opening week is brought to you
36:58by Vanguard with a beautiful
37:01night at the battery the
37:04entertainment district
37:06surrounding Truist Park one
37:10nothing Braves on an Ozzie
37:12Albies first inning home run
37:13and here's Carter Jensen.
37:18Carter Jensen you remember last
37:20year in his first major league
37:22at bat went up against Ken Lee
37:24Jansen a future Hall of Fame
37:25closer and now.
37:26And his first start.
37:28Of the very next season against
37:30a.
37:31Future Hall of Famer.
37:32And Chris Sale.
37:34And he's trending in that
37:35direction.
37:36And when he gets old and salty
37:38like me right maybe take it
37:39over for me in the booth at
37:40some point.
37:41He can tell all these
37:42youngsters and all these
37:43young royals.
37:44Man opening day I went against
37:45Chris Sale my first big league
37:47at bat Ken Lee Jensen.
37:48A couple guys heading towards
37:49Cooperstown.
37:54Right away.
37:55And even in that bat against
37:56Jansen.
37:58Carter just showed great poise.
38:00At the plate.
38:01And he did not look like.
38:03A rookie hitting on the
38:04pitcher's terms.
38:05He had some really good long
38:06at bats.
38:07What a phenomenal take on that
38:09slider.
38:09One.
38:12Not the fastball and.
38:15Files it.
38:16Into the crowd off to the left
38:17field side.
38:18We mentioned.
38:19Chris Sale slider is
38:20historically one of the best
38:21breaking balls in all of
38:23baseball.
38:23You can look up all the numbers
38:24to back that.
38:25For Carter Jensen to come up
38:26here.
38:27And face Chris Sale for the
38:28first time.
38:29There's certain pitches there's
38:30certain movement.
38:31On pitches that you just
38:31simply don't see in the minor
38:33leagues.
38:33That's why on that one one
38:34slider take I was super
38:36impressed because.
38:36He shut down early on that.
38:42Pretty good swing at that
38:43pitch.
38:43He wasn't bailing out.
38:45Seeing it well shut down
38:46early but what I meant by
38:47that is.
38:48He can see and he can recognize
38:49out of hand and he shut down
38:50his swing.
38:51Even that one right there.
38:52He's all over that slider.
38:54That's the tricky part with
38:55Chris Sale.
38:55You see the angle how he drops
38:56down.
38:57Towards first base.
38:58Some of them kind of sweep
38:59across the plate and some of
39:00them have a little more depth
39:01breaking down.
39:02Young Carter is going to make
39:03a note of that.
39:04I like the swings early on
39:10from.
39:12And now Michael Garcia.
39:15Now you got a.
39:16Left hand batter I mean sales a
39:18handful for right hand
39:19batters but man as a lefty
39:20and you can speak to this
39:21because you face sale I mean
39:23there's.
39:24Courage is just as important.
39:26As.
39:27It is good hitting mechanics.
39:29As a left handed hitter.
39:31Are you willing to get hit in
39:32the face with a ninety nine
39:33mile an hour fastball.
39:34And if you've got a face like
39:35Joel Goldberg respectfully
39:36you're willing to stick it in
39:38there.
39:38And take it.
39:39Stick your nose on that slider.
39:40But if you've got a face like
39:41young Carter.
39:42Sometimes it's a little harder
39:43than usual.
39:44But in all serious Ryan he.
39:47Is a tough at bat because of
39:48that angle.
39:49It's almost like if you're taking
39:50BP at home.
39:51Put the L screen.
39:52In between the pitchers now in
39:53first base.
39:54And that's kind of what it's
39:55like facing Chris.
39:56Balls looks like it's coming
39:56behind you as a left handed.
39:58And you forget he's six six.
40:01So I mean talk about extension.
40:03I mean.
40:03Wearing fifty one kind of
40:04looking like Randy Johnson out
40:05there.
40:06Who he grew up admiring.
40:09And you can see why.
40:10A lot of the pitchers when you
40:12think about it.
40:13We talk about.
40:14Starting pitcher in the big
40:15leagues.
40:15How do you pitch for ten plus
40:17years.
40:17You have the arsenal you create
40:18new pitches whatever it is.
40:19Chris Sale has stuck with his
40:21fastball his slider.
40:22And he's just found different
40:23ways how to use those weapons
40:25against lefties and righties.
40:28Mike L is on with a one out
40:30walk.
40:31That's what Mike L.
40:31Let's get it on for Bobby.
40:32But here's the arm angle.
40:33Look at that.
40:34Freeze that right there.
40:35Looks like it's coming from
40:35first base.
40:36Bryce Harper saying this is
40:37ninety nine miles an hour.
40:38I got to get ready for a
40:39fastball.
40:39But look what happens.
40:41Go ahead and roll that back
40:42there at the table.
40:43And this ball just disappears.
40:44I mean ninety nine.
40:45I got to get it going.
40:46I got to make contact out
40:47front.
40:48All of a sudden the ball
40:48sweeps across the whole entire
40:49plate.
40:50Left on left.
40:51This is the modern day Randy
40:52Johnson.
40:53Chris Sale man.
40:54Oh.
40:54Devastate.
40:58And then to go on top of that
40:59Ryan if you're a right handed
41:00hitter.
41:01You see how he sets up the
41:02fastball weights way off the
41:04plate.
41:04So then the next pitch you see
41:05it out of hand you say nope
41:07that's a fastball way I'm
41:08taking I'm not swinging and
41:09then all of a sudden it sweeps
41:10across the plate for a strike.
41:11Wow.
41:15Last ball strike on Bobby you
41:16hit it right on the nose.
41:18With Mike Kell at first base in
41:20the first inning but on one
41:22hop to Dubon it short.
41:24Who started the first of two.
41:26Six four three double plays
41:28behind sale tonight.
41:29Yeah I like it early we're
41:30putting pressure on sale the
41:32pitchcouts getting up there
41:33continue to have good at bats
41:34and put pressure on it.
41:37That's taxing on a starting
41:38picture right.
41:39It can really really get to
41:40you especially second inning
41:41third inning.
41:42We saw Chris sale.
41:43He's a veteran guy like we
41:44mentioned.
41:45He's got a really really good
41:46resume.
41:47He gave a big fist pump after
41:48the second inning.
41:48So he's telling you right
41:49there that was taxing getting
41:50they put some pressure on me
41:51right there.
41:52Come right back the next day
41:53and do the same thing.
41:54This is good start for the
41:55offense.
41:56I know we don't have a run
41:56right now.
41:57But where we're working on and
41:58where it's going to show up
41:59late.
42:02We can all saw that all the
42:03way.
42:04You continue to work pitchers
42:06and continue to.
42:07Make him work and get him out
42:08of his comfort zone there.
42:09That's how you start to get
42:10the ball up in the zone.
42:11That's how you start to create
42:12better pitches for yourself.
42:13And hopefully drive one.
42:15And catch one like Ozzy did
42:16against us.
42:18Michael's got a big lead and
42:19he's bouncing around out
42:20there trying to be a
42:21distraction.
42:23And it's still 0 and 2 on
42:24Junior.
42:26Ace versus Ace.
42:27You're not just going to go
42:28up there slug and let's get
42:29something going on the bases.
42:30And if we're not let's at
42:31least mess with them.
42:32Let's get a good secondary
42:33lead with two strikes.
42:34You don't want to throw Bobby
42:35with a play a pitch over the
42:37plate.
42:37So if that ball gets in the
42:38dirt here you see Mike Hells
42:39getting a great secondary lead
42:40see if we can get the second
42:41base on it.
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