Ian Anderson needed a rebound after a horrendous performance in his most recent outing. He got all that and more as the Braves cruised to a 6-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday night in Atlanta.
With a newly-trimmed beard, half a tick more velocity on his four-seamer, and less of the pitch-to-pitch inconsistency that’s plagued him this season, Anderson dominated the Diamondbacks for much of his six-inning stint. He didn’t allow a baserunner until two outs in the fifth, and finished his day with a 9/1 K/BB ratio that included just the one hit, a Jake McCarthy hustle double on a liner to left.