The Braves have won again. This time, it was an 8-2 triumph over the Nationals, marking the Braves' 14th straight victory.
The stars in this one were starting pitcher Spencer Strider and third baseman Austin Riley.
Strider, who was making just his fourth start since moving into the rotation from his role in long relief, took a no-hitter into the fifth inning. He would give up two runs on just the one hit in 5 2/3 innings, striking out a career-high 11 batters.
Riley homered twice. The first time he made it 5-2 Braves on a two-run shot, so it was a breathing-room home run. The second one effectively ended the game, pushing the score to 8-2:
It'd been almost a half hour since @austinriley1308 last hit a dinger so he was due.#VoteBraves: https://t.co/tF2BPq04Q9 pic.twitter.com/dyUbo1Disf
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 16, 2022
Riley now has 10 home runs and 20 RBI in his last 20 games. He's at 18 homers and 39 RBI on the year.
It wasn't just those two, of course. As has been the case throughout the streak, the supporting cast was spot-on for the Braves as well. Dansby Swanson turned in another multi-hit game. Rookie Michael Harris continued to provide a spark and is hitting .328 so far. Orlando Arcia is likely the one most tasked with trying to replace some of the lost production to Ozzie Albies' injury and he went 3 for 3 with a home run and two RBI.
Meanwhile, up in Citi Field, the Mets were trounced by the Brewers. The Braves trailed the Mets by 10 1/2 games entering the month of June. The Braves have gone 14-0 in the month and have already trimmed the deficit to just four games.
Also, here are the longest winning streaks in Braves history:
- 15 games: April 16-May 2, 2000
- 14 games: July 26-Aug. 9, 2013
14 games: CURRENT - 13 games: July 8-July 25, 1992
13 games: April 6-April 21, 1982
That's it. The franchise that goes back to the Milwaukee Braves and Boston Braves and all the way back to the Boston Beaneaters and Doves has never had any other winning streaks of more than 11 games -- at least not in recorded history.
If this continues much longer, we can start talking about all-time winning streaks. They are off Thursday, but a win on Friday would make 15 straight for the Braves. There have only been 31 winning streaks of 15 games or more in recorded MLB history (1901-present). The record for consecutive games without a loss belongs to the 1916 Giants at 26. They did tie during the streak, however, so the longest streak of wins belongs to the 2017 Cleveland Indians at 22.
Looking ahead, the Braves play a badly-struggling Cubs team next for a three-game series in Chicago. They then face the Giants (four games) and Dodgers (three games) at home in Atlanta. That's 10 games total, so if we're to see history, it's coming pretty soon.
