This opening weekend and homestand have felt especially sweet after last year’s nightmare start. Drake is raking, TBS-era Braves enjoyers are eating good with the newly revealed City Connects and various BravesVision homages… and the Braves aren’t climbing out of an early season deficit.

Let’s hope the good vibes made the team plane headed West.

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First stop on the trip will be Chase Field, where Reynaldo López and the Braves will be kicking off a four-game set against the Diamondbacks (lots of “A” logos in the scorebug in this stretch – Athletics in the rearview, Arizona on deck, and Angels in the hole). A battle of #2 starters with no-decisions awaits in the desert.

López’s performance in Game 2 is probably a touch overshadowed by Dom Smith’s history-making grand slam, but it was a good one nonetheless. After the worriers and haters said he couldn’t do it (and by it, I mean fix his fastball velo), he had a “here, damn”-type of an outing in his season debut. He touched 97 mph and rarely dipped below 93 mph during his six innings of one-run ball. All hail the magical mechanical adjustment?

On the other side will be longtime D-back Ryne Nelson. Alternating between starting and long relief in the beginning of 2025, he cemented his role in the rotation after Corbin Burnes went down for the year. He would go on to toss a career-high 154 innings with a 3.39 ERA. In his last outing against the Braves in 2024, he went five innings with five hits (a homer apiece from Olson and Harris II), three earned runs and seven strikeouts. He’ll be looking to bounce back from his Opening Week performance after being tagged for 4 ER in 4.2 innings by the vaunted Dodger lineup.

This Diamondbacks team, like the Athletics, started the season 0-3 but completed a sweep of the Tigers yesterday. Their lineup continues to be headlined by Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte, and Geraldo Perdomo.

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It’s going to be a late one – perhaps consider taking a page out of Team Italy’s book and getting beaned up if you’re following along here in Atlanta or on the East Coast.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Thursday, April 2, 9:40 p.m. EDT

Location: Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ

TV: BravesVision

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan