{
  "id": 1771785,
  "title": "Braves hope Tyler Mahle can continue dominant start to his Atlanta tenure",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/braves-hope-tyler-mahle-can-continue-dominant-start-to-his-atlanta",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-18T18:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/braves-hope-tyler-mahle-continue-183000547.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Atlanta Braves are currently experiencing a dip in performance, especially on the offensive side, and they are optimistic that relief may come from starting pitcher Tyler Mahle, who has been exceptional in his first two appearances in a Braves uniform. The Twin Cities will face the talented right-hander Zebby Matthews, who has had a challenging year. Mahle has shifted his approach, relying more on his splitter than his cutter, while utilizing his four-seam fastball and splitter for 85% of his pitches, with the cutter serving as a change of pace rather than a primary weapon. This strategy could be a key factor in his continued success, though it seems unlikely he will replicate his impressive pace of 12.0 innings over two starts, along with 16 strikeouts and just one run allowed, given his new pitch tendencies. Matthews, on the other hand, has been struggling with a 4.21 xFIP and a 5.05 FIP for the Twins this season, having thrown 91.0 innings. His strikeouts have dropped significantly, from a previous 9.62 per nine innings, to 7.62, while his walks have increased to 2.97 per nine innings. His fastball, while still effective, lacks the same heat as in previous seasons, with its location primarily concentrated in the strike zone, a less than ideal situation for a pitcher against top-tier hitters. Despite this, Mahle's fastball maintains good movement, and his success appears to stem more from the volume of pitches thrown than the quality of his secondary offerings, which include a slider, changeup, curveball, and occasional sinker. Given Matthews' recent struggles, the Braves' offense could find some much-needed relief in this matchup, potentially dropping a significant number of runs against the Twins. The game is scheduled for Tuesday, August 18, at 7:40 p.m. EDT, to be played at Target Field in Minneapolis, MN, with broadcast coverage on BravesVision, as well as 680 AM and 93.7 FM Radio's The Fan and Los Bravos.",
  "summary": "Tyler Mahle has been brilliant to start his Braves career and now we hope he can shut down the Twins’ offense in Minneapolis",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Atlanta Braves promote former FSU star to Double-A",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/atlanta-braves-promote-former-fsu-star-to-double-a",
        "published": "2026-08-18T19:52:05.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}