Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images Atlanta Braves news and notes from Wednesday The Bally Sports saga continued to spiral on Wednesday, as major cable provider Comcast dropped Bally networks amidst a contract dispute. Yes, this means that you cannot currently watch the Braves on Comcast/Xfinity, although there are other cable providers and streaming solutions (MLB.tv) that are accessible depending on your situation. Once again, the biggest losers are the fans and the wellbeing of the sport, but also of course Diamond Sports Group, which continues to make baffling decisions. It is highly unfortunate (and/or incompetent) that MLB attached itself with such commitment to the RSN TV model that now appears so outdated, especially with the blackout restrictions involved. Hopefully this ridiculousness can be resolved somehow soon in a way that allows for a wider set of fans to access MLB games and does not send financial shockwaves through the league. Braves News The Braves are currently not viewable on Comcast television due to a contract dispute with Diamond Sports Group. Kris put out a request for mailbag questions, so feel free to click here and ask us some questions. Chris Sale had a dominant outing in Seattle and the Braves’ offense showed signs of life at the top, which had been slumping for a while now on the way to an Atlanta win. MLB News Once top prospect Luis Patino got Tommy John surgery, continuing a brutal stretch of seasons as he fell from being one of the highest rated prospects in baseball. MLB announced suspensions that were the result of a benches-clearing brawl between the Rays and Brewers on Tuesday. The Mets traded Zach Short to the Red Sox for cash in a depth move for the veteran. Short can’t hit but provides solid defensive versatility on the infield. Mike Clevinger appears likely to join the White Sox’ rotation soon, after a brief AAA stint. There are a number of options who he could possibly replace, including former Braves’ pitcher Mike Soroka.

Austin Riley came through for the Braves | Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports Chris Sale struck out nine with zero walks over 5.0 innings and the top of the lineup came through with a break through after a costly error from Mitch Haniger The Atlanta Braves faced off against the Seattle Mariners in the final game of the three game series in which the Braves lost the first two games by a combined two runs. After only scoring three runs in the first two games of the series combined, it is pretty obvious that the offense needed to get going if they were going to avoid their first three game skid of the year. Emerson Hancock stood in the way of the Braves’ offense finally breaking through against the Mariners. Hancock struggles with giving up hard contact and his 17.3 percent strikeout rate is in the bottom 20.0 percent of qualified pitchers. Things looked like they may go well for the Braves in the first inning as they were able to get two runners on when Albies and Riley had back to back walks. However, Emerson’s low strikeout rate was not the case in the first inning when he struck out Acuña, Olson, and Ozuna. The second inning did not give much hope for the offense as Duvall struck out, followed by Harris and Arcia being retired for a three-up-three-down inning. In the third inning the Braves were able to load the bases with an Acuña, Riley single, and Olson walk. The Braves took the lead when Ozuna had an RBI via a walk which scored Acuña. This was the good news. The bad news is that Tromp and Albies had already been retired along the way via fly out and pop up respectively, and once Duvall came to the plate he hit a fly ball to Julio Rodriguez to end the inning. Obviously only scoring one run when the bases were loaded was not ideal. Fortunately for the Braves, they were able to break it open in the fourth inning, and most of the damage was done by the top of the lineup. The top of the lineup had been struggling as of late, but today they came through. After Harris hit a groundout, Arcia was able to reach second via an error from Mitch Haniger. This error would prove to be crucial because Tromp would have potentially ended the inning with his groundout to third. The Braves were able to capitalize on this error in a major way as Acuña then scored Arcia with a single to make the game 2-0. Albies followed suit with a single putting runners on first and second. Riley then cleared the bases with a triple off of the wall that Haniger just missed to make the score 4-0. Hancock was then replaced by Trent Thorton who promptly allowed Olson to score Riley with a single of his own. The Braves ended up scoring four runs off of Hancock that were charged as unearned. 4 in the 4th!Listen for FREE on @680TheFan! pic.twitter.com/tQYpO3QZRW— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 1, 2024 Chris Sale was on the mound and he looked to follow up arguably his best performance of his season so far with another gem. Turns out, that was in the cards. Sale did not give up his first base runner until Seby Zavala singled with two outs in the third. Julio Rodriguez singled following Zavala to put runners on first and second, but Sale was able to take care of business by striking out Mitch Haniger looking to end the inning. Through three innings Sale had six strikeouts and zero walks. After Sale was able to get two outs in the fourth it looked as though he may be in a little trouble as he gave up back-to-back singles and hit Luis Urías with a pitch to load the bases, but he was able to get out of the jam unscathed when Sam Haggerty lined out to Michael Harris to end the inning. Sale was finally tagged for a run in the fifth when Zavala doubled, moved to third on a groundout from Rodriguez, and finally scored on a bloop single from Polonco just over Olson’s head. Sale was able to get out of it with anymore damage when he struck out Cal Raleigh. This inning ended Sale’s afternoon with a solid 5.0 innings pitched, six hits, one ER, zero walks, and nine strikeouts. NINE Ks from Chris.#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/7YbyZEJ0wg— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 1, 2024 Dylan Lee took over and was able to get through the sixth without any damage, but then was tagged for a run with two outs in the seventh and was replaced with A.J. Minter. With a 5-2 lead Minter was shaky at first surrendering a walk to put runners on first and second, but was able to strikeout Ty France to finish up the seventh. As what seems becoming a “per usual” scenario, Joe Jiménez came in and dominated and went three-up-three-down in the eighth, followed by Raisel Iglesias coming in to close it out. Iglesias was shaky at first giving up a walk followed by a singled, but was able to shut down the following three batters to secure the save and a 5-2 victory for the Atlanta Braves. The Braves will have an off-day tomorrow and then travel south to face the Dodgers in a three game series.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports The Falcons went against the grain by selecting a QB at 8 before placing a heavy emphasis on defense. Do you think Atlanta ended up a winner or loser in the 2024 NFL Draft? Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Atlanta Falcons fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. The 2024 NFL Draft has come and gone, and we’ve all had a few days to sit and think on the Falcons’ selections. After a very controversial quarterback selection at 8, Atlanta placed a heavy emphasis on improving the defense with a clear focus on the defensive line. While I like the majority of the players the team picked, I’m not sure how much this draft class will help the team this season. This seems like a very future-focused draft—but perhaps that’s not a bad thing. At any rate, this isn’t about what I think, it’s about what you think. This week’s Reacts survey asks a simple question: do you consider the Falcons winners or losers in this year’s draft? Give us your answer below! Please take our survey

The dishes offered at newly opened Auburn Angel. | Auburn Angel Casa Balam, Auburn Angel, and vegan pizzeria Pizza Verdura Sincera are among the newest Atlanta spots Spring is a busy opening season in Atlanta. Here’s the latest on what’s new. Week of May 1 Rreal Tacos opens seventh location in Buckhead Crowd favorite Rreal Tacos opened another location in Buckhead on May 1, just in time for Cinco de Mayo. They will occupy the former Farm Burger in Tower Place. This will be the restaurant’s seventh location, and are already found in Midtown, West Midtown, Chamblee, Sandy Springs, Cumming and Sugar Hill. Variety of tacos at Rreal Tacos. April Vegan pizzeria Pizza Verdura Sincera opens in former Zesto space The former Zesto spot in Little Five Points finally has a new resident. Pizza Verdura Sincera is officially open, two years after the announcement of its takeover. Owners David Smith and Paul Jones opened the doors on April 27. Expect vegan pies with toppings like vegan pepperoni and seasonal veggies like squash, zucchini, and sweet onions. Team behind El Valle and Oaxaca opens Casa Balam in Decatur Casa Balam is the newest Mexican restaurant in downtown Decatur, where the former Ted’s Montana Grill used to be. It opened on April 23 and comes from the same group behind popular Mexican fine dining joints, El Valle in Midtown and Oaxaca in Chamblee. Chef and co-owner Luis Damian has created a menu of traditional and modern Mexican fare, including tacos, empanadas, and family-style meat options of duck confit, beef birria, and Chilean sea bass. Auburn Angel opens in historic Auburn Avenue The new restaurant has opened in the Auburn Avenue Rib Shack space. Led by proprietor Asa Fain, executive chef Robbie Pacheco, and accompanied by pastry chef Pamela Moxley, Auburn Angel opened on April 19. Expect indoor and alfresco dining, with dishes like grilled octopus, striped bass on spring peas and pickled enoki mushrooms, and rhubarb almond tart. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Casa Balam (@casabalamatl) Decatur’s newest wine shop, Vine Fine Wine, is now open Owners Sam Pilch and Madeline Long celebrated a ribbon-cutting and grand opening of their wine shop in downtown Decatur on April 19. The shop focuses on minimal intervention wines from smaller producers around the world. Look for organic and biodynamic wines and plenty of wine books at this neighborhood shop. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vine Fine Wine (@vinefinewine)