The ups
With a sweep of Cincinnati last weekend, the Braves finished April at 17-9, matching last year’s mark which was also a 13-year high win total. The Braves have been in first place in the NL East since April 12.
Justin Upton is sad to see April go. His eight home runs last month gave him 36 April blasts over his career. Only Ryan Braun (43) and Albert Pujols (40) have more among active players.
Jason Heyward’s throwing error in Miami Tuesday night only served to remind what a superlative defensive player he has become. His error in the sixth inning was his first in nearly 19 months. Last year, he became just the second player in franchise history to record a 1.000 fielding percentage season (100 game minimum). Boston Braves right fielder Willard Marshall did it first in 1951.
The downs
From sweepers to sweepees: Until they dropped three straight games in Miami, the Braves had won 12 of 13 series against the Marlins, beating them 30 times in 40 games. The Braves were swept in Miami for the first time in eight years. Atlanta had not lost three straight since last September 15-17.
Starters Alex Wood and Aaron Harang allowed a combined 16 earned runs in 9 2/3 innings in back-to-back starts against the Marlins. Up to that point, the rotation had yielded just 28 runs in 24 starts.
Wood’s 2-4 record is an aberration. The Braves were shut out in his last three starts. In his first six appearances, the team gave him just 10 runs in support.
Hot
Justin Upton went into the weekend hitting .379 over his past 18 games. His streak included 19 RBIs and 12 extra-base hits.
Even after Wood and Aaron Harang were rocked in Miami, the Braves produced 21 quality starts (at least six innings pitched with three or fewer runs allowed) in their first 27 games. Across the major leagues, only Milwaukee starters pitched better.
Closer Craig Kimbrel struck out 403 batters in his first 242 appearances. Among closers with at least 140 saves, his 43 percent strikeout percentage is the highest in history. Billy Wagner ranks second at 33 percent.
Not
Freddie Freeman began the Giants series with just three hits in his last 27 at-bats.
Braves lead-off hitters opened the weekend batting an NL-low .205.
Pinch-hitting, a team strength last season, has yet to materialize. Pinch-hitters were 6-for-31 (194) through 27 games. Last year, Atlanta pinch-hitters batted .246, third-highest in the league.
Questions
How does Gavin Floyd fit in?
Now that they’re away from the NL East for a while, does the Braves’ schedule lighten up?
Answers
The team isn’t paying Floyd $4 million to be a middle reliever.
No. In fact, the opposite. In the coming three weeks, they will face strong contenders St. Louis and San Francisco 12 times. Then comes Milwaukee, which entered the weekend with the best record in the majors.
Thoughts
Throughout their fast start, the Braves have not shown themselves to be the most resilient team offensively. They have a losing record (7-10) when the opposition scores first and hit just .220 when trailing. They are 0-8 when trailing after the seventh inning and hit just .223 in innings seven through nine. And yet they accumulated the NL’s second-best record against a non-nonsense schedule. In their 26 games in April, 18 (69 percent) came against teams that entered the weekend with .500 records of better.
