Strong starting pitching and a blossoming small-ball approach to scoring have both served the Braves well during their nine-game winning streak.
Braves relief pitchers have been the glue keeping it all together. They’ve made leads hold up and limited damage to keep comebacks within reach.
No bullpen in the majors has done it better lately. Braves relievers have allowed one earned run in 22 2/3 innings (0.38 ERA) during the nine-game winning streak, tops among major league bullpens over that span. Shae Simmons kept the bullpen’s eight-game scoreless streak alive by finishing off the Braves’ 10-4 victory over the Diamondbacks on Saturday.
And the one run allowed during the nine-game winning streak was harmless: the Phillies were behind 9-2 when they scored on a groundout against Luis Avilan during the first game of the Braves’ winning streak.
Closer Craig Kimbrel has maintained his All-Star form while converting 27 of 31 save chances, including five during the winning streak. The bridge to him has remained sturdy even as key players have been lost to injury.
“With our bullpen, we have guys that kind of float around and have opportunities in different roles,” Kimbrel said. “Nothing is really catching anyone off guard. Everybody has the ability and the talent to throw at any inning, at any point.”
Right-hander Jordan Walden went to the disabled list for 32 games with a hamstring injury and rookie call-up Simmons quickly took over the setup role. Right-hander David Carpenter seemed to be finding his groove when he went to the disabled list on June 17; Anthony Varvaro and Luis Avilan have helped keep the bullpen humming without him.
Simmons has come through in some pressure situations. He earned his first win Tuesday against the Mets when he retired both batters faced in the fifth inning to leave runners stranded at first and third then pitched a perfect sixth.
“He’s been great,” Kimbrel said. “He came up (from the minors), he’s gone out there and thrown strikes and being aggressive and going right at guys. He’s got the tools to go out there and do that.”
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