My Two Cents: Braves My World Series Favorite in March, And Nothing Has Changed
DENVER, Colo. — I had a chance to catch up with the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night, and things still look the same. They thump like crazy, just like they have all year, and they keep finding enough pitching to get the job done.
The Braves won 7-3 over the Colorado Rockies, and hit three home runs in the process. They had a fourth rookie starting pitcher make their MLB debut, and had the bullpen close out the game with two scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth.
Just like they've been doing all year.
The Braves are now an MLB-best 87-45 on the season, a whopping 42 games over .500. They are 13.5 games ahead in the National League East, and a lock to make the playoffs. I picked them to win the World Series back in the spring, and here's my thought as we head into September.
I'm not changing my mind.
Need proof?
Atlanta's hitters lead the NL in home runs (250), batting average (.276). Their pitchers lead the league in earned run average (3.79). With all that good pitching and good hitting, they have a positive run differential of plus-235 heading into a big weekend series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers.
So, yes, in other words they still do everything right most every night.
Need voices? Let's start with third baseman Austin Riley, who has 31 home runs and is one of seven Braves with 20 or more homers. He's also one of eight Braves with 19 or more doubles. They are very much in this together, and ride off of each others' momentum.
"We feed off each other a lot. It's than next-man mentality,'' Riley said. "If i come up don't get the job done, Matt (Olson) does or any of the other guys right up and down the order. Guys have monster nights, and you never know who's going to step up. Sometimes it's the top, the middle, the bottom. Heck, some nights it's all of us.''
The Braves have had three four-game losing streaks this season. The first one — from April 19-23 — was preceded by a 14-4 start to the season and an 11-3 hot streak afterward.
After the second stretch, they went 24-3 from June 3 to July 3. They lost four straight from July 15-18 but have gone 26-12 since.
Little blips in the long 162-game schedule — which happen to everyone — doesn't phase this team one bit.
"We just have so much faith in each other and belief in each other,'' Riley said. "You're going to go through those bumps in the road, but we all pull for each other a lot. There are no pointing fingers, and the value of a good clubhouse is huge. We're together more than we're with our own families, and when you're going through a tough stretch, everyone is there for us.''
Need more voices? Here's what manager Brian Snitker said about how this season has gone.
"It speaks volumes to the professionalism in the individuals in that room,'' Snitker said. They stay focused on today's game and their job. They are consistent in their work, and it's a testament to that. They like to play baseball. It's not work to them, and they're willing to put in the extra work. They embrace every day, and they all do it right every day.
"It's a good lineup. It's right that they feed off each other. And when a couple of them aren't, there's always others right there to pick up the slack. They are each other's biggest fans, and I like that. It's a really good trait to have for a ballcub.''
The Braves reached 250 homers on Wednesday, the second-fastest to that mark in baseball history. First baseman Matt Olson, an Atlanta-area native who was traded to the Braves from the Oakland A's before the start of the 2022 season, has been tremendous. He hit 34 homers a year ago and has 43 already this season, which leads the National League and is second in all of baseball to Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani, who has 44.
Riley and Marcell Osuna have 31, Ronald Acuna Jr. has 29 and Ozzie Albies have 28, Catcher Sean Murphy and outfielder Eddie Rosario each have 20.
Their pitching has been really good, too, despite a slew of injuries. Ace Spencer Strider, who pitches Thursday night in the series opener against the Dodgers, has made every start, as have Charlie Morton and Bryce Elder. They also have Max Fried back now, too, after missing three months. He's 3-0 in five starts — and the Braves have scored 36 runs in those games, a 7.2 average.
The Braves are all lined up for the four-game series with the Dodgers. Strider goes Thursday, Fried on Friday, Elder on Saturday and Morton on Sunday. Strider has 15 wins, Morton 14 and Elder has 11. Fried is 5-1 in his shortened season.
They deal, justd about every start.
"It's fun going out there and playing third base with Charlie out there or Strider, and Max is back now. They just all do the job,''
Atlanta has a four-game edge on the Dodgers, and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs does matter to them. They know it's not the be-all, end all — they won the 2021 World Series despite having won only 88 games and were the worst division winner — but it's a nice thing to have too.
They're entering the final month of the season, and that's prime time. They love it.
"You love September baseball, because you start to get some cooler temps and you start to build for October baseball. You love that window,'' Riley said. "This weekend with the Dodgers, that ramps it up a bit too. It's a big weekend series and it will be full and loud. It's definitely going to have a feel of October baseball, and we love all. that.''
The Braves are still the favorite to win the World Series, according to the gambling website Fanduel.com. They are listed at plus-270 odds, with the Dodgers a close second. Four American League teams — Houston (plus-600), Tampa Bay (plus-1100), Baltimore (plus-1100) and Texas (plus-1100) are next.
The Braves can beat you in a lot of different ways — and we've seen that all season long. Don't expect that to change anytime soon, either. There's no factoring the freakiness of short postseason series, but it still makes total sense to still see them as a favorite.
"Our guys have proved it. At a young age, they've been in all the highest pressure situations the game has to offer,'' Snitker said. "They've played big playoff games, played in a World Series, they've experienced all of it. So nothing phases them now. The hitters have been good and they are great at picking each other up.
"Our starters, they've done well all year, and ur bullpen has been good all year, too. We've been able to spread their workload around well enough that no one's getting burned out.''
