Insights from the Braves’ series win over the Pirates

The Atlanta Braves picked up another series win but missed a chance at a sweep with a 4-2 loss to the Pirates on Sunday. It was an interesting stretch for the Braves, who seemed to have regained their momentum after winning eight games in ten. But they followed that with a series loss in St. Louis and a 1-0 loss to the last-place White Sox to end the trip. A series win to start a long home series was a good thing, but also a reminder of how inconsistent their offense has been since early May.

Pitching continues to dominate

It’s scary to think where this Braves team might be without the pitching staff. Charlie Morton came back with a good performance in the series opener on Friday. Max Fried went toe-to-toe with Paul Skenes on Saturday, and Spencer Schwellenbach began Sunday’s game with four scoreless innings before going downhill in the fifth inning. Fried, Morton, Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez have a combined 2.84 ERA in 60 starts, and the Braves have a combined 39-21 record in those games.

Through Sunday, the Braves had allowed just one run in their last three games, beginning with a 1-0 loss at Chicago. They had just enough offense to pull out a win in extra innings on Saturday, but were stopped again by Bailey Falter on Sunday. Not enough can be said about the pitchers as a whole, and it’s scary to dream about how good they could have been had Spencer Strider not been out for the season.

June fainting

The month of June has not been the springboard for the Braves that it has been in recent seasons. After going 13-14 in May, Atlanta was 14-13 in June and is 27-27 since a 19-9 start. Atlanta entered the month 6.0 games behind the Phillies and will be at least 7.0 games behind depending on the outcome of their game on Sunday.

Jarred Kelenic on the road to success

It’s been a season of adjustment for Jarred Kelenic, but we’re starting to see some of the potential the Braves were looking for when they acquired him from Seattle. Kelenic went hitless in Sunday’s game but is hitting .304/.356/.543 on the month. Five of his nine home runs have come in his last 15 games since moving up to the No. 1 spot. All nine of his home runs have come since May 7.

The Braves had hoped that Kelenic could attack at the bottom of the batting order and just get things done, but injuries to Ronald Acuña Jr. and Michael Harris, along with poor performance from the lineup, have given him a much more prominent role.

Rare occurrence

A rare incident occurred in Saturday’s game when the Braves scored a run on their first at-bat (a leadoff home run) and their last at-bat (Adam Duvall’s single). They were the only two runs they scored in the game. That has happened two more times since the club moved to Atlanta.

The first time this happened was in 1966, when Felipe Alou hit a home run and Eddie Mathews walked in the ninth inning to beat Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers 2-1. The same thing happened in 1975 against the Phillies, when Ralph Garr opened the game with a home run and Earl C. Williams closed it out with a single.

Injury Updates

AJ Minter made another rehab appearance for Gwinnett on Sunday, throwing a scoreless inning. He has been on the injured list since May 30 with hip inflammation. He could be fit in time for Tuesday’s series opener against the Giants.

Ian Anderson started in rehab for Augusta on Sunday, allowing one hit and one walk in three scoreless innings. He had one strikeout while throwing 46 pitches. His velocity was lower than his last rehab appearance in North Port. The Braves could bring him back sometime after the All-Star break.