The Braves’ offseason additions, Chris Sale and Reynaldo López, have routinely delivered good outings, with Max Fried returning to his full potential.
The Braves’ recent pitching performance has kept them close to.500, despite a 4-3 loss to the New York Mets on Sunday night. Brandon Nimmo’s two-run walk-off homer against A.J. Minter sealed the defeat. It snapped Atlanta’s four-game winning streak.
The Braves have struggled to score more than four runs in their last 13 games, with the exception of slugger Marcell Ozuna. They have not been the power-hitting powerhouse they were in 2023.
In 2023, they hit 307 home runs, tying an MLB single-season record, and led in other significant categories. This season, they are tied for 14th in home runs with 41 and have a slugging percentage of.415, down from.501 the previous year. In the last 30 days, the Braves rank 18th in home runs (26 in 25 games) and 23rd in slugging (.367).
The team is hoping on a comeback from reigning National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr., as well as Matt Olson and Austin Riley, who finished in the top seven in 2023. Olson’s hard-hit rate and exit velocity indicate he’s due for a breakout.
Riley leaves with side discomfort.
Riley departed Sunday’s game in the fourth inning due to discomfort in his left side, which was described as a precautionary measure.
However, Braves supporters will be frustrated until Riley returns to the lineup. On Opening Day, catcher Sean Murphy suffered a left oblique strain and was placed on the 10-day injured list. It was diagnosed as a Grade 1 strain, the least serious, but Murphy has lost more than six weeks and could miss two more.
Acuña looked like he was emerging from a slump when he went 7-for-14 with a double and a homer in a three-game stretch on the last trip, but in his past six games, he’s 3-for-23 and grounded into two double plays. One of the hits was a 461-foot homer to center Friday at New York, his longest this season.
On Sunday, Acuña was picked off twice at first base by a team that ranks last in the MLB for catcher caught stealings. In other words, last season’s MLB stolen-base leader may not have needed to take such an aggressive lead.
Ozuna’s performance remains impressive.
Ozuna added two more RBIs on Sunday, including a single in the eighth inning that gave him a 3-2 lead. He leads MLB with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs in 37 games. Teoscar Hernández of the Dodgers has the next-most RBIs with 33 in 42 games.
Before Sunday, Ozuna has 50 homers and 136 RBIs in 162 games dating back to May 1, 2023. Ozuna is tied with Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber for the most home runs over that time period, with a four-RBI edge over Olson.
Ozuna’s homers and RBIs aren’t entirely surprising, considering he led the NL in both during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season with 18 HRs and 56 RBIs in 60 games, and last season finished with 40 homers and 100 RBIs in 144 games despite batting .085 with two RBIs through April.
No, the shocker is his.326 average, ranked sixth among NL qualifiers. Ozuna’s.638 slugging percentage and 1.042 OPS are second among MLB qualifiers, trailing Shohei Ohtani’s.667 and 1.090.
Fried back to form.
Fried, who threw a three-hit shutout against the Marlins in 92 pitches three weeks ago, controlled for seven innings on Saturday, bringing the Braves close to their first no-hitter in three decades.In the ninth inning, J.D. Martinez hit a two-out home run off closer Rael Iglesias.
Fried left because he was at 109 pitches, one shy of his career best, and would have required roughly 125-130 to finish even if he had retired the side in order in the last two innings. Teams
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