The Braves sometimes get hits, but they rarely hit for power, so they usually have to string together multiple singles at the right time to score runs.
That’s been too much to ask from the Braves as their competition has stiffened since sweeping the Marlins last weekend. In their 8-2 loss to the Mets on Saturday the Braves had 10 hits but only one for extra bases, Freddie Freeman’s RBI double.
The Braves had 48 hits over their past five games but that translated into only 17 runs because just seven of those hits went for extra bases.
“There is some hope there offensively,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “We are getting our hits but we are not scoring runs. We are averaging two or three runs per game and not getting any breathing room for our pitchers.”
Their lack of power means the Braves have a lower slugging percentage (.287) than on-base percentage (.303). That’s rare even accounting for sample size of just 17 games.
In some ways the recent offensive struggles were inevitable for the Braves after they had a remarkable streak of scoring runs with two outs. That’s not sustainable over the long term.
“One thing we’ve got to do a better job of is getting guys on early, not starting rallies with two outs,” Braves outfielder Jeff Francoeur said. “When you start rallies with two outs you’ve got to be perfect. When you start them with one out or not outs, you at least leave room for someone to make an out. Right now we’re not doing that. It’s frustrating.”
