Braves Briefing: How does Atlanta's pitching impact their place in MLB?

The Atlanta Braves picked up another series win over the weekend and will host their toughest foe yet starting Monday when the Los Angeles Dodgers come to Atlanta for a three-game series.

Despite Atlanta fans being upset with how the Braves have looked from the mound at times this season, the staff at MLB.com has been remarkably consistent with where they have the Braves every Monday when they release their power rankings for everyone in the league.

The Atlanta Braves are still the second-best team in baseball

Despite the ups and downs over the past few weeks, MLB.com's power rankings have the Braves as the number two team in baseball. They've been there for several weeks and trail only the Rays.

Here's what Alyson Footer of MLB.com said about the Braves.

The Braves’ rotation has taken quite an injury hit of late, and after using six relievers the day before, they needed two things from rookie Jared Shuster on Sunday: length, and results. They received both. The 24-year-old lefty held the Mariners to one run over six innings, and he struck out seven batters. The Braves had a good week -- after they were swept in Toronto the prior weekend, they took two of three from both the Rangers and Mariners. Despite the injuries, Atlanta’s rotation leads the NL with a 3.22 ERA heading into Monday.

NL East Standings

Going 4-6 over the last 10 games, Atlanta is tied for the worst record in the division during that span. The Braves' homestand will be crucial over the next few games.

Team	Record	GB	Action Today
Atlanta	29-17	-	Hosts LAD
NYM	25-23	5.0	Off
Miami	24-23	5.5	@ Colorado
Philadelphia	22-24	7.0	Hosts Arizona
Washington	20-27	9.5	Off

We wrote it

Braves Today's Lindsay Crosby tackled our Sunday coverage and mentioned a transformed Marcell Ozuna in the game's takeaways.

Ozuna, who has been widely criticized for, like, five different reasons, has completely reversed course after his dreadful start to 2023.
In the month of May (entering Sunday), Ozuna was batting .333/.414/.706 with six homeruns and fifteen RBIs. He'd raised his season slash line from a paltry .071/.212/.286 on April 10th to .200/.296/.436 as of this morning.
Ozuna went 1-3 against the Mariners, with a single and a 2nd hard-hit ball, a 95.6 mph grounder in the 4th. He has been hitting the ball hard all year, and now that the BABIP luck is starting to swing back his way, Atlanta's lineup is even deeper when you've got a power threat with a hot bat lurking in the seven hole.

Check out all of the takeaways.

Watch Atlanta Braves highlights vs Seattle

How to watch the Atlanta Braves

Atlanta opens the series against the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers tonight - first pitch is at 7:20 PM ET, with RHP Charlie Morton matching up against prospect RHP Gavin Stone. The game broadcast, with Voice of the Braves Brandon Gaudin, is available inside Braves Country on Bally Sports South, and is available on MLB.TV outside of the broadcast area. The radio call, with Ben Ingram, is available locally on 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan or outside the Atlanta market on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network or MLB.com.

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