Braves’ offense gets a ‘reset,’ back on a roll after All-Star break
After a woeful June, one that had even the club’s most fervent supporters hovering their hands over panic buttons, the Braves have burst out of the All-Star break with vengeance on offense.
Sure, it has been only three games. And, yes, much of the damage was inflicted against one of the American League’s worst pitching staffs (statistically speaking). But still, runs are runs and hits are hits, and the Braves had plenty of them against the Rangers at Truist Park.
“We’re a really good lineup up and down,” Braves third baseman Austin Riley said. “I feel like we’ve had some tough stretches there kind of leading up to the break. … So, I think that week right there with the break was just more of a reset just to rest our bodies and get back to (being) capable of what we’re able to be doing.”
Riley’s production against the Rangers (6-for-12 with three solo home runs and five RBIs) leads to some cautious optimism that he left his brutal offensive first half of the season back in Mississippi, where he spent his All-Star break. His two-homer game Sunday helped the Braves get out to a big lead they didn’t relinquish in an 8-5 victory.
Sunday’s win had the Braves rack up 14 hits and ran their weekend total to 42. Catcher Drake Baldwin had 10 of those 42 hits and center fielder Michael Harris II had six (two in each game).
The team totaled nine home runs in the three games en route to posting 29 runs.
“Even through our worst struggles, I always had hope because when I looked into the crystal ball and I looked down the road, I knew we were going to get some guys back,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “The guys that were struggling, that wasn’t going to continue. Their track record said so. If you looked ahead, you could see some good things coming. As tough as it was, and it’s tough when you’re not winning games, but I always felt like there’s better days ahead, and hopefully this is a sign of that.”
The hot start for the Braves offensively could stir giddiness as it pertains to the possibilities of the lineup being even better in the weeks to come.
Weiss indicated Friday that outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, who has been on the injured list since July 11 after hurting his elbow on a throw in from right field during a game in St. Louis, would likely only need the minimum 10 days before being reactivated. That means Yastrzemski, who was 7-for-20 with two homers and eight RBIs in his last seven games and was on a five-game hitting streak before his injury, should be back this week.
Ronald Acuña Jr. (hamstring) is on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett after having logged three games as a designated hitter with the Florida Complex League Braves. Acuña hit a grand slam in one of those FCL games and is 1-for-5 in two games with Gwinnett.
Weiss said Acuña still has “some days ahead of him” before he returns to the big-league roster. The Braves will welcome that return whenever it is.
“What (Acuña) can do, it’s tough to replace when he’s firing on all cylinders,” Riley said. “We’re swinging the bat well right now and to get him back healthy and what he can do, it’s just going to add a lot more pressure on the opposing pitchers.”
The Braves (57-41) have four games this week against the Padres, a team that swept them in San Diego in late June but also one that went on an eight-game losing streak shortly thereafter. The Padres (49-50) come to Atlanta having lost two of three to the Royals in Kansas City and have the seventh-worst ERA in the National League.