The Atlanta Braves have dropped five series in a row after being swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks and are 11.5 games back in the NL East. It doesn’t seem that long ago that Atlanta was above .500 with Ronald Acuña Jr.’s return on the horizon, but the team has now buried itself in a hole. The Braves pitching woes, and even some unreliable production at the plate is the culprit for their recent struggles.
On May 18, the Braves were 24-23 after picking up two wins in a three-game series at Fenway Park. Atlanta had seemingly clawed its way out of a brutal start to the season in which the Braves went 0-7 on the road. The Braves were above .500 for the first time this year and appeared to be a team that could be a true competitor in the NL East.
Braves fans were hopeful that Acuña’s return would help the club pull ahead, but the star outfielder can’t carry the team alone. Since ascending above .500 on May 18, the Braves were swept by the Nationals in a two-game series, dropped two of three home matchups against the Padres, won just one game in a series in Philadelphia, dropped a home series to the Red Sox, and now, have been swept by the Diamondbacks.
Pitching contributing to Braves’ slump
Pitching has emerged as a key issue throughout this losing streak. The Braves are now without AJ Smith-Shawver, who tore his right UCL on May 29. Reynaldo López also remains out of action due to right shoulder inflammation, with a return date still to be determined. The Braves remain hopeful that the righty will pitch again this season, but the squad’s rotation is faltering.
Spencer Strider is now back from injury, but has struggled since his return. In the series opener against Arizona, Strider allowed three home runs. The starter’s ERA has exploded to 6.43 in his three starts since returning from a right hamstring strain. Chris Sale has been a bright spot in the rotation. He notched 10 Ks in his start against the Diamondbacks Wednesday, but it wasn’t enough for a win, as the Braves fell 2-1.
Atlanta struggles with unreliable offense
Offensive unreliability has also plagued Atlanta. After recording just one run on Wednesday, the Braves’ bats got hot for 10 runs on Thursday. The Braves scored four runs on four straight batters in the bottom of the third inning of Thursday’s series finale. Austin Riley kicked things off with an RBI single, and Matt Olson followed with an RBI double. Marcell Ozuna further boosted the offense with a two-run double. Ozzie Albies made the score 6-0 with an RBI double. Later in the game, Austin, Acuña, and Drake Baldwin added home runs.
The Braves scored double-digit runs for the first time since May 18 and just the third time this season. Yet, the pitching couldn’t hold on. Scott Blewett and Raisel Iglesias allowed eight combined runs over just 2 innings.
Atlanta gets swept in its home series with Arizona, but lost each game in a different way. The series finale loss came from struggles in late inning pitching, Wednesday’s loss was from a lack of offense, and Tuesday’s loss was a mix of both.
The Braves are plagued by a series of losing streaks, with several contributing factors. Atlanta will now prepare to head out West for a series in San Francisco and will aim to snap this five-series losing streak.
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