Braves Report: On to Los Angeles

I once saw Ted Turner before a Hawks game (I know, I know, wrong newsletter … stick with me).

I must’ve been 13 or 14. It had been a few years since he sold the team(s). But there he was, strolling from the CNN Center to then-Philips Arena as I wolfed down a 12-piece nugget.

I didn’t meet him.

What I remember, though, is no one stood up and shrieked. No crowd descended upon him. No bashful requests for autographs or handshakes or any of your typical celebrity-in-our-midst type behavior.

Everyone just kind of … got happier. Smiled.

“Hell yeah,” we all seemed to think in unison. “Ted’s here.”

That’s what it felt like, anyway. You know what I mean?

The man was one of us, even if he wasn’t. Simultaneously a sort of mascot and civic godhead … Atlanta’s weird, wise warrior in single combat against the world.

He wanted Atlanta — the city, its sports teams — to be more. For outsiders to know it was more. And he willed it so.

Few people have ever fought for us like that, on that scale.

It’s why we loved him.

OK, NOW SOME BASEBALL STUFF

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

Hey, Braves beat writer Chad Bishop: What’s it like when a minor leaguer on the other side of the country gets a last-minute call to the bigs?

By Chad Bishop

SEATTLE — There are not many direct flights from Norfolk, Virginia, to Seattle, if any. But when you need to make your MLB debut, you find a way to get there.

So Braves infielder Jim Jarvis wasn’t going to be denied, leaving Virginia’s port city on the East Coast on Wednesday morning to fly to Detroit (where he dared not leave the gate to get food so as to not miss his connection) and then on to Washington state for the Braves’ game against the Mariners. He landed in plenty of time before first pitch, but still had to scramble to get to the Braves’ clubhouse just a couple hours before game time at T-Mobile Park.

🗣️ “I had a lot of adrenaline as you can imagine,” Jarvis said.

Jarvis received a phone call around 1 a.m. EDT Wednesday from Gwinnett Stripers manager Kanekoa Texeira. Jarvis began to frantically pack, then stopped and sent Texeira a confirmation text message to make sure this wasn’t some elaborate prank.

Before the phone call from Texeira, Jarvis said he had just fallen asleep.

🗣️ “You can imagine my confusion,” he said.

Jarvis arrived at T-Mobile Park a little after 11 a.m. PDT Wednesday, went from the dugout to the field to get in a quick stretch and then took infield practice with Kyle Farmer, throwing across the diamond to catcher Drake Baldwin at first base. The former Alabama standout was penciled in the lineup to play shortstop and bat ninth.

Jarvis’ first at-bat of his big league career came in the third inning against Mariners starter Bryan Woo. Jarvis hit a 2-2 pitch to shortstop for a ground out.

In the bottom of that same inning, Jarvis made his first defensive play as a big leaguer, picking a liner off the bat of Cal Raleigh and turning it into a 6-4-3 double play.

Jarvis battled for eight pitches in his second career at-bat but was caught looking at an inside 96-mph sinker. In the eighth, Weiss called on Dominic Smith to pinch-hit for Jarvis.

Until then, Jarvis admitted, a lot of Wednesday was a blur.

🗣️ “After I got pinch-hit for, and I was watching the rest of the game, I was standing there going, like, ‘This is sick.’”

Sick, indeed. As always, y’all make sure to follow Chad at @MrChadBishop.

DODGERS ON DECK

The Braves left Seattle with their first series loss of 2026, and now it’s on to L.A. — and their toughest test of the early season.

⌚ Game times: Friday through Sunday’s games start at 10:10 p.m., 9:10 p.m. and 4:10 p.m., respectively. All on BravesVision, with a Sunday simulcast on Gray TV stations, too.

🤔 What to know: In case you somehow forgot, the boys in Dodger blue assisted the Braves in starting the 2025 season 0-7. A month or so later, they took two of three games in Atlanta.

While they’re 24-13 and remain among baseball’s best, they are on the skids a bit of late (5-5 in their last 10). They’re also missing former MVP Mookie Betts (oblique strain) and closer Edwin Díaz (elbow surgery).

The Braves, meanwhile, shuffled their rotation a bit to get their best starters on the mound. The probables:

🙁 Et tu, Freddie? Former friend Freddie Freeman has hit .315 with five home runs over 89 career at-bats against the Bravos. He’s a collective 9-for-27 against this weekend’s expected starters.

🗓️ Coming next week: The hard-charging Cubs visit Truist Park … which will offer free Hawaiian shirts on Tuesday; bobbleheads of Michael Harris II and his dog on Wednesday; and a chance to see the FIFA World Cup trophy on Thursday.

SO WHAT’S THIS ‘OHTANI RULE’ ABOUT?

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani is not expected to pitch this weekend. But he’ll still be giving L.A. an advantage on the mound.

That last part has garnered fresh scrutiny early in 2026, as Ohtani embarks on his first season as a (mostly) full-time pitcher since 2023. Various opposing managers have called out the inequity.

So has Braves TV analyst CJ Nitkowski.

“I am pro everyone plays with the same roster size,” he recently wrote on X. “Crazy idea, I know.”

QUICK, SOME OTHER NEWS!

💪 Matt Olson rules. He leads the National League in home runs, runs scored, RBIs and doubles. He’s second in slugging and OPS. He’s top 5 in total hits (as are teammates Ozzie Albies and Drake Baldwin). And somehow, he’s still underrated.

👋 In case you missed it: Closer Raisel Iglesias is back from his brief stint on the injured list.

🏆 Andruw Jones doesn’t officially join the Baseball Hall of Fame until July. But some of his swag is already in Cooperstown — including the ball from one of his homers in Game 1 of the 1996 World Series.

🍌 The Savannah Bananas head to Truist Park this weekend and, after an ill-advised perusal of social media comments, I’ve started a simple poll: Are you tired of the Savannah Bananas? (Early results suggest not, which is the correct answer.)

↕️ Rival watch: The Phillies have won eight of their last 10 … but remain four games under .500 and nine games back in the division (behind the Nationals, who trail the Braves by eight games).

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Credit: AJC staff

Credit: AJC staff

A different cat for different times.

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Until next time.