Atlanta Braves lose series against Cardinals

The Atlanta Braves leave St. Louis with a two-of-three loss to the St. Louis Cardinals after splitting Wednesday’s doubleheader. The Braves lose their first series in two weeks and fall to eight games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East.

With that in mind, here are some insights from the series defeat.

Arcia seems interchangeable

Shortstop Orlando Arcia had to leave the game in the sixth inning on Monday evening due to dizziness. The already ailing Arcia was excluded for Tuesday’s game before it was canceled due to rain, and he was left out of the lineup when the game was rescheduled the next day.

In his absence, his replacement took advantage of his opportunity. Zack Short went 1-for-2 with a two-run single to open the scoring in the top half of the double-hitter. He also reached base on two other plate appearances via walks in the 6-2 victory.

This does not bode well for Arcia. Short may not be a long-term option, but it could give the Braves more security to give someone other than Arcia a chance. Their No. 6 prospect, Nacho Alvarez Jr., was firing on all cylinders since arriving at Triple-A Gwinnett. He’s not on the 40-man roster yet, but he’s quickly giving the Braves reasons to put him there.

It’s doubtful that Arcia will be DFA’d to make room for Alvarez. Chances are he’ll be back in the starting lineup for this upcoming home game. But there’s no denying he’s in danger of being passed over by Wally — losing his spot permanently to the next guy.

Kelenic’s latest rift seems lasting

Putting Jarred Kelenic in the leadoff position paid off. At first, you could argue that he just had a few good days at bat, but looking at a sample size of 11 games, a new trend is starting to emerge.

During his winning streak, Kelenic was able to increase his batting average from .259 to .282. His OPS rose by 75 points from .706 to .781, behind only Marcell Ozuna (.956).

Kelenic’s four home runs are twice the number he hit when he was in the bottom half of the lineup.

Kelenic attributes the increase in home runs to his approach.

“I stick to my plan and try to chase throws over the middle of the plate so I can play there longer,” Kelenic said after the first game of the doubleheader: “Staying in – that’s the most important thing. I think I’m getting a few more throws over the middle of the plate and not missing them.”

Kelenic added that individualizing each at-bat helps him focus at the plate.

“I think it allows you to be present in the box. It removes the emotional side of it.”

Kelenic ran the Braves’ entire offense in the second half of the doubleheader, going 3-for-4 with an RBI in a 3-1 loss to the Cardinals.

The offensive is not yet fully developed

The Braves’ offense has picked up some momentum lately, but this series showed they still have a long way to go. The team scored a total of 10 runs in three games, six of which came in the second game of the series.

The team went 5 of 22 (.227) with runners in scoring position during the series. Without Kelenic, the team went 3 of 20 (.150) overall. That makes all the difference in a one-point loss like Monday’s 4-3 loss.

Stats like these are why the Braves are 8-11 in one-point games this season, compared to 23-18 in 2023. They are not taking advantage of their opportunities.

Their pitching got them through, but championship teams can hit in time.

Reynaldo López would inevitably appear regularly

It makes more sense to call Lopez’s performance against the Cardinals “normal” because he didn’t have a single bad game. It just wasn’t as elite as he’s been all season.

In the first game of the doubleheader, Lopez pitched five innings and allowed just two earned runs, despite allowing four hits and four walks. The Cardinals gave him a hard time, but he won the battle and picked up his sixth win of the season. For those who still want to keep track of wins and losses, he is now 6-2 this year.

Lopez allowed two runs and his ERA went up. That doesn’t happen often. It’s even rarer to see a pitcher’s ERA go as high as 1.70. Lopez is once again the ERA leader and the only qualified pitcher in all of MLB with an ERA under 2.00.

Individual players continue to stand out within the team, but as a group there are still issues that need to be resolved.

The Braves will travel to Chicago’s South Side to make up a postponed April 3 game and play a one-game series against the White Sox before returning home for a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates to begin a nine-game home series.