Behind Tyler Mahle, Braves bid for season sweep of Rockies

This time last week, the Atlanta Braves were searching for answers amid a lackluster road trip.

Entering the series finale of a three-game set against the visiting Colorado Rockies on Sunday afternoon, the vibes have completely shifted.

Atlanta lost five of six games last week before beginning its current six-game winning streak. The Braves extended that run of good fortune on Saturday with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Colorado. With the win, the Braves improved to a season-high 26 games over .500 and are tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the second-best record in the National League.

Coming off an impressive three-game sweep of the Dodgers, Atlanta manager Walt Weiss stressed the importance of not suffering a letdown against the woeful Rockies.

"It happens all the time in sports, talking about trap games, trap series," Weiss said. "We see it all the time, it's human nature. I told our guys, if we want to be good, we've got to fight that. I was worried about a letdown, but there hasn't been one at all."

Michael Harris II laced a two-run double in the eighth inning on Saturday to help the Braves improve to 5-0 against Colorado this season.

Right-hander Tyler Mahle (5-10, 4.41 ERA) wasn't regarded as a major trade deadline acquisition, but he's proven to be a vital piece of Atlanta's rotation. In four starts since being acquired from the San Francisco Giants, Mahle is 2-1 with a 1.52 ERA.

Last Sunday, Mahle allowed just one run on six hits across five innings while striking out four and walking two in a 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

"(Mahle) has been a shot in the arm for us," Weiss said. "He's got the split-finger and the cutter so he's basically got a three-pitch mix, but he commands them all and he executes pitches. He's a strike-thrower. He's got a really good feel for sequences, for navigating lineups. He's done a really nice job."

Mahle is 3-1 with a 4.60 ERA in eight career appearances (all starts) against the Rockies. He faced them on July 5 and July 11 this season and allowed four earned runs across 11 1/3 innings.

Right-hander Mason Adams (0-0, 2.25 ERA) will make his second career start on Sunday for Colorado. The 26-year-old tossed four innings of one-run, three-hit ball in his major league debut against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday. Adams struck out five and walked three in the no-decision.

"He was poised for his debut. I thought he looked totally in control out there," Colorado manager Warren Schaeffer said of Adams. "I thought he was attacking with his heater, the upshoot was really good, the two-seamer was good and the breaking ball was beneath the zone. ... We'll see if we can extend him (further into the game) moving forward, but that was good for his first time out."

Adams, a 13th-round draft pick in 2022, was traded to Colorado in a package that sent Brenton Doyle to the Chicago White Sox.

-Field Level Media