Good morning. This is LEADOFF, the early buzz in Atlanta sports.
The Braves carry a 21-27 record into their Memorial Day game against the Los Angeles Angels, better than at the same point last year but nevertheless on pace for a third consecutive season of 90-plus losses.
The erratic way in which the Braves have assembled their current record has made the first two months of this season a constant roller-coaster.
The Braves opened the season by losing six of their first seven games, including five in a row at one point.
Then they won their next five games, including a four-game sweep of San Diego.
Then they lost their next six.
Then they won four in a row.
Then — detecting a pattern yet? — they lost eight of nine, including another six-game losing streak.
Then they won nine of 12.
And now they have lost four of their past five games.
Such erratic performance stems in part from a starting pitching rotation that collectively has a dismal 4.70 ERA. Only one of the Braves' five starters has an ERA under 4.44 (Jaime Garcia's 3.58). The two 40-something starters signed to one-year contracts totaling $20.5 million have ERAs of 6.96 (Bartolo Colon) and 4.65 (R.A. Dickey, who gave up seven runs, six earned, in the first three innings Sunday in San Francisco).
Julio Teheran, the Braves' starter for Monday night's game in Anaheim, Calif., has a 4.88 ERA with wildly divergent splits: 0.71 ERA on the road, 8.40 at SunTrust Park.
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DON’T MISS …
Three goals in the first 23 minutes propelled Atlanta United to a 3-1 victory over NYCFC at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Sunday. Read Doug Roberson's report here.
The Falcons will begin their "organized team activities" — non-contact practices — on Tuesday, a week behind most NFL teams. D. Orlando Ledbetter lists five things to watch from OTAs.
Mike Trout, the Angels' star center fielder and two-time American League MVP, might miss at least Monday's game against the Braves after spraining his left thumb on Sunday. See details here.
