WASHINGTON — When they arrived in North Port, Fla., for spring training, the Braves had one goal: repeat as World Series champions. They believed they had the talent and, because of last year, the experience to make another run at a title, tough as it may be to win two in a row.
Thus, there is no other way to put it or see it: The Braves’ first half was a massive success. It ended with a loss, but this team has provided fans with a glimpse of another exciting October.
The Braves on Sunday lost to Washington, 7-3, in the final game before the All-Star break. It snapped a 14-game winning streak at Nationals Park – the longest by any team, including the Nationals, in the ballpark’s history – and ended a nine-game winning streak against Washington. Atlanta took three of four from Washington.
The Braves are 56-38. The 56 wins are the franchise’s most in the first half since the 2003 squad won a franchise-record 61 games before the break. They are 2 ½ games behind the first-place Mets.
“I think we’re another championship team, in my mind,” manager Brian Snitker said.
The season began with some sleepwalking from the reigning champions but ended on the best note possible. The Braves are 33-11 since the start of June.
Are they a perfect team? No, but which club is? Will they face challenges the rest of the way? Yes, but who won’t? The Braves deserve to head into the break feeling great about themselves and what they showed over the first 94 games. Not only have they shown they have the talent and depth to repeat as champions, but they’ve played well enough to position themselves for an opportunity to win a fifth straight division title if all goes well over the remainder of the season.
“Really good, especially with the kind of just-average start that we had,” Matt Olson said of how he feels about the club. “Couldn’t really get into the rhythm. For the past month and a half, been rolling.”
In Sunday’s loss, rookie sensation Spencer Strider allowed five earned runs over four innings. He served up a two-run homer to Victor Robles in the Nationals’ four-run second inning. All four runs came with two outs, and Strider surrendered one more in the fourth.
The hard-throwing righty encountered some tough luck in the second inning. Austin Riley’s throwing error – on a throw that could’ve beat the runner to first base and ended the inning – extended the frame. And on the pitch before Robles homered, he checked his swing and might’ve gone around, but the umpire ruled he didn’t on the appeal.
“Just a long second inning,” Strider said. “Couldn’t get off the field.”
The Braves’ offense, which has destroyed Nationals pitching this season, scored three runs in the fourth and nothing else. One missed opportunity came in the seventh, when Olson, who has been on a tear, grounded out to the pitcher to leave the bases loaded.
The Nationals deployed six pitchers in a bullpen game.
“Those bullpen games are rough, where they just keep cycling guys in,” Snitker said. “It’s not a sustainable thing, but when you have to do it, sometimes it’s hard when you’re getting different looks at guys, and they did a good job.”
The best compliment to the Braves might be this: The discourse shouldn’t concern this loss or even this series. These Braves should be viewed in the larger scope of the sport.
In this first half, Atlanta proved it’s one of baseball’s best teams. And for as hot as last year’s team got en route to the World Series, this club may be better.
Atlanta’s lineup may be baseball’s best. These Braves set a franchise record for home runs before the All-Star break. The rotation, with Max Fried pitching like an ace and Kyle Wright emerging as a breakout star, has looked strong. The bullpen is deep. And the guys are having fun.
“It’s a bunch of good dudes who like to have fun and joke around off the field, and when it’s game time, it’s time to go and everybody’s focused,” Olson said. “In my baseball days, that’s always been the best combo.”
Last season, the Braves didn’t get rolling until August. They blazed through their competition from there and put together a special run to cap a dream season with a championship.
This time, the Braves started earlier. As they head into the break, they appear to be in position for another postseason berth and, thus, another opportunity to win a World Series. When the season began, that’s all they wanted.
Even as the second half looms, the Braves feel they can appreciate what they accomplished in the first few months.
“I think you can,” Strider said. “We sort of scuffled for a little bit and then picked it up, had a really good run. Now we’re right there at the top, where we want to be, a good spot to be at going into the second half. Obviously, we’re not sitting happy, but we’re confident going into the second half, for sure.”
