The longtime Braves nemesis is now on the (spring) board for homers here in 2025.

Garrett Cooper got one on the board this Spring, with a deep two-run shot in the fifth inning. But … that was about it for the offense for the Atlanta Braves in the afternoon. The other offense was supplied a few innings earlier with some patient at-bats, but it ultimately only led to one run in support of starting pitcher AJ Smith-Shawver.

Garrett Cooper — yes, that one — hits a rocket off Liam Hendriks for a two-run shot.

3-2 Braves pic.twitter.com/9cwLZblqXV

— The Pesky Report (@ThePeskyReport) March 9, 2025

As for Smith-Shawver, his bid for the fifth spot in the rotation got off to a bit of an inauspicious start in the first inning. Wildness and poor command led to a couple of runs, but after a few more hits in the second, the young right-hander looked much better in the last few innings. Altogether, he went four innings and gave up just the two runs from the first inning, but he was ultimately able to miss some bats, netting four Ks. I was a little worried at the beginning, but I was pleasantly surprised with his recovery, which all you can ask on any regular season game.

Bryce Elder’s bid to get that fifth spot … did not go so well. Back-to-back shots to start the outing were unfortunately a representation of how the outing would go. He allowed three more runs and walked a couple batters. It feels like a long time since he gave us feelings of being a rotation workhorse.

As far as the rest of the offense, it was basically a Sunday lineup in Spring Training with Jarred Kelenic and Marcell Ozuna as the only real representation from the regular expected lineup. Kelenic didn’t do much, but he did add a stolen base. He has slowed a bit since we were optimistic last weekend, but that’s about what we expected.

Chadwick Tromp was the pleasant surprise on the afternoon with a couple hits. Given that Sean Murphy is out for a while, getting anything out of the catching position is going to be helpful.

On the Red Sox side of things, Trevor Story and Trayce Thompson are having nice Springs. There was a contingent of people wondering if Story would be a possible SS acquisition similar to Chris Sale last year, but the problem hasn’t really been his talent. Spring won’t show you if he can stay healthy.

Outside of that, Liam Hendriks continues his comeback, but it was a rough outing for him, not missing any bats and several of the balls that met bats were hit pretty hard. I’m rooting for him, but it’s been a tough Spring.

Atlanta will look for a bit of a bounce-back tomorrow against the Rays.

Other item of note:

• It was interesting to hear Eddie Perez talk about being a head coach. He was always a bit of a favorite of mine as he was the personal catcher for Greg Maddux, and while he never hit much (he added some self-deprecating humor in that regard during the in-game interview), he always seemed a clubhouse favorite. During the in-game conversation, you could sense how much he wants to ultimately manage, and I hope he gets that shot one day.