By: TJ Hartnett

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Play ball!

The 2018 MLB season is under way and the Braves have wrapped up their first series of the year by winning two out of three against the Phillies.

That’s three games down, 159 to go but let’s unpack this tiny little sample size and see what we can deduce about how the rest of the season might go.

First off, this offense can be potent even without Ronald Acuna, Jr. They put up runs in all three games, including a huge night of 19 hits and 15 runs in the rubber game on Saturday.

That game in particular was a feat because they didn’t hit a single home run in the contest and that’s going to be something to keep an eye one.

This isn’t a team loaded with power (Nick Markakis, despite his walk off bomb on Opening Day, is not a powerful cleanup hitter), but they grinded and scrapped all series long to get the runs they got.

Of particular note were some of the players you might not have realized were on the team. Ryan Flaherty tore the cover off of the ball against Philadelphia (he’s hitting .538 on the season) and platoon left fielder Preston Tucker recorded two hits over the last two games to go along with his knock on Thursday. Along with Chris Stewart, who also featured prominently during the series finale, these are the guys that Alex Anthopoulos added to the team late and they are showing their worth so far.

Let’s not sell short the returning Braves either. Catchers aside, (because they’re both hurt) the returning Atlanta Braves, save one, are all hitting above .300 to start the season.

Ozzie Albies is the odd man out so far but he contributed a home run to the rally on Opening Day and has looked good in both the field and at the plate.

The rest, consisting of Ender Inciarte, Freddie Freeman, Markakis, and most importantly Dansby Swanson, have all racked up several hits on the young season so far.

Swanson went hitless in the first game but collected five in the following two. Hopefully, the rule to Thursdays exception.

The pitching, in particular the starting pitching, has also been good so far. Julio Teheran pitched five solid innings before leaving the field a bit of a mess in the sixth, Mike Foltynewicz through five with seven strikeouts against just one walk and two earned runs and new Brave Brandon McCarthy settled down after a rough first to pick up the first win for a Braves starter on the year.

It hasn’t been a showcase of several Clayton Kershaws but it was never going to be and what they did get was good enough.

But all that good work aside, what really stood out about this series is how inept Gabe Kapler looked as the manager of the Phillies.

From taking Aaron Nola out after 68 pitches and a 5-0 lead in game 1 to using 9 pitchers in game 2, to taking out his starter without having warmed up a reliever in game 3, the guy is going to get eaten alive by the Philadelphia press this week.

The Phillies are a better team on paper but unless Kapler can make some huge strides, and soon, the Braves will be looking forward to plaything them 16 more times before October.

Speaking of managers, a point of interest: Brian Snitker must be chasing Bobby Cox’s career record for ejections, as he’s been tossed twice in three games. It bears mentioning that those are the two victories, so maybe he ought to make it a trend.