Braves Report: The Reds ride into town

Before we get started, y’all should meet Rod Beard, the AJC’s new senior sports editor.

He comes to us from Detroit, but his Braves ties go way back, thanks to his grandfather (and the Superstation).

Check out today’s Sports Daily newsletter for a quick Q&A with him, too!

THE SERIES AHEAD

How does a four-game home set with the Cincinnati Reds sound?

📺 How to watch: Tonight’s game starts at 7:15 p.m. on FanDuel Sports. Same time and channel on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

⚾ The starters: Looks like we’ll have some pretty good pitching matchups, starting with AJ Smith-Shawver (1-2, 4.26) vs. Brady Singer (4-1, 3.24) tonight.

📝 The scouting report: The Reds sit at 18-17 on the young season. They’re top-5 in the National League in both runs scored and team ERA.

Outfielder Austin Hays (who’s hitting .365 to start the season) recently joined the 10-day injured list.

CONSISTENCY IS KEY

Credit: Mike Stewart/AP

Credit: Mike Stewart/AP

The Braves finally got one from the Dodgers last night — but remain well below L.A.’s stratosphere.

Manager Brian Snitker shared a theory about what makes the reigning champs so good: “The big thing is their stars star. They produce. There are no bumps in the road. Those guys produce. That’s why they’re so steady and good.”

Sounds obvious. Yet it’s exactly what the home team’s lacked far too often this season.

We’ll talk about the pitching momentarily, but offensively?

Austin Riley’s pair of two-run homers allowed the Atlanta to hold on for Sunday’s 4-3 win. He’s just about reached “hotter than a dancing bobcat” territory.

The rest of this team’s stars? Well, it’s just not consistent.

📊 Matt Olson may be following a similar path, four hits over the weekend. He’s not there yet, though.

📊 Marcell Ozuna only has one hit and three RBIs in his last 10 games.

📊 Michael Harris II came through a couple times last week but reached base just once against the Dodgers.

📊 Ozzie Albies recorded three hits, including a homer, on Saturday. Still, his OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) remains below league average.

You can make statistics say more or less whatever you want. Baseball is a roller coaster.

But the Braves certainly need steadier performances from their biggest names moving forward.

A PITCHING POLL

Credit: Mike Stewart/AP

Credit: Mike Stewart/AP

Bryce Elder pitched pretty well Sunday, especially early on.

And his five-inning, two-run performance continued an encouraging trend: Over his last three starts, he’s gone 17 innings with a 3.18 ERA and a WHIP of 1.235.

“There’s going to be ups and downs,” Elder told the AJC. “I think in the past, I didn’t handle those downs very well, and I think I’m handling them better this year.”

As columnist Ken Sugiura writes, the Braves could really use a version of Elder that even vaguely resembles his 2023 form. The team’s collective starters ERA is 26th in the bigs.

🤔 Which raises a question: Which starting pitcher do *you* think Atlanta most needs to step up their game moving forward? (Spencer Strider not included because … well, he’s not back yet.)

A. Chris Sale

B. Spencer Schwellenbach

C. Bryce Elder

D. Grant Holmes

E. AJ Smith-Shawver

I’d vote Sale, because the veteran returning to Cy Young-ish form probably rubs off on the rest of the staff. I’m not overly concerned about Schwellenbach righting the ship, either.

Send me your thoughts!

CHEAP SEATS (AND EATS)

As I mentioned before, the Braves have some good “May in the A” deals running during this series (and the May 12-15 set with the Nationals).

Ten-buck seats are cool and all, but I’m more impressed with the $2 hot dogs and $4 Miller High Life. More details here.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Credit: Mike Stewart/AP

Credit: Mike Stewart/AP

Kind of adorable, right?

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Until next time.