The ups
As if they lacked for it, the Braves just got more starting pitching. Gavin Floyd’s Tuesday debut against the Cardinals — seven innings, six hits, one earned run, two walks, five strikeouts — ended the team’s seven-game losing streak and made a good problem for manager Fredi Gonzalez. Has anyone ever tried a seven-man rotation?
No team in the majors is getting so much from its pitching staff than the Braves and it’s not even close. The club went into the weekend with a 2.77 ERA. The nearest competition? St. Louis at 2.95. The best pitching the franchise saw during its run of 14 consecutive division titles was a 3.13 staff ERA in 2002.
Justin Upton entered the weekend hitting .391 at Turner Field. His seven home-field home runs are tied most in the majors.
The downs
The club’s seven-game losing streak included a 0-5 start to May. No Braves team had done that since 1977, when manager Dave Bristol’s club started 0-10 in May, part of a 17-game losing streak that remains the Atlanta club record.
2B Dan Uggla remains the anvil around the club’s neck. He entered the weekend hitting .184, .071 over the past two weeks and .103 when the Braves lose. He strikes out once every 3.3 at-bats. His seven errors are the most among major league second basemen. As a rule of thumb, teams like to wait the first two months before making major roster adjustments. Something’s got to give.
Situational hitting has been a growing concern all spring but it became a glaring issue during the losing streak, when the Braves hit .118 (6-for-51) with runners in scoring position.
Hot
Reliever David Hale opened the Cubs series with a 1.76 ERA, lowest among all NL rookies.
1B Freddie Freeman appears to be over his late April swoon. He hit. 455 during the Cardinals series and entered the weekend with a .318 average for the homestand.
Until he gave up a two-run homer last Sunday to the Giants’ Brandon Crawford, reliever Jordan Walden had thrown 12 1/3 scoreless innings.
Not
Although C Evan Gattis’ seven home runs were tied with San Francisco’s Buster Posey for most among major league catchers, he went into the Cubs series on a nine-game slide: 4-for-30 (.133) with nine strikeouts and two RBIs.
Since his seven-game hitting streak ended last Sunday, OF B.J. Upton was 2-for-15 entering the weekend.
Atlanta pinch-hitters opened the Cubs series batting .175, 14th in the NL.
Questions
Is there any stat that predetermines when the Braves might win?
Why send Alex Wood to the bullpen?
Answers
This team? Seriously? OK, they’re 11-0 when they score first.
Three reasons. Luis Avilan is the only lefty down there. His choppy delivery makes for a tricky late-inning change of pace. And Wood has excelled as a reliever (20 career appearances, 2.08 ERA, 23 strikeouts and 22 1/3 innings).
Thoughts
For those scoring at home, 3B Chris Johnson’s new three-year $23.5 million contract extension brings to six the number of Braves that the club has extended since late winter. The team has doled out $304.2 million to lock down Johnson, Freeman, Craig Kimbrel, Jason Heyward, Andrelton Simmons and Julio Teheran for a combined 30 years. And that’s not counting the $15.1 million they spent on additions Ervin Santana and Aaron Harang to answer the spring training injury epidemic.
