SAN DIEGO – Throughout this first half, even during the good times, the Braves have repeated a sentiment.
Their best baseball is ahead of them.
Over the next two and a half months – and beyond, if you count the postseason – they will have the opportunity to prove that.
On Sunday, the Braves beat the Padres, 6-3, at Petco Park, in their final game before the All-Star break. Atlanta is 53-42 through the first three and a half months of the season.
Now, the Braves will have four days off before they resume their journey.
Five observations:
1. In spring training, Spencer Strider and A.J. Minter both said it: World Series or bust.
The Braves have lofty expectations. And why not? Look at their roster. Even after losing Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr., the Braves have found a way to stay afloat. They comfortably hold the top wild card spot in the National League. They can bolster their roster at the July 30 trade deadline.
Over the final stretch of this season, the main topic surrounding them will center on whether or not they win the World Series.
In August and September, the question will be: Are they at their best heading into October?
“Truthfully, it’s focusing on more of a series at hand, just try to win every series,” Travis d’Arnaud said. “That’s what playoff baseball is, is winning the series to get to the next series. You’re going to win one (game), lose one. There’s been teams who have lost three and come back and win the series, and ended up winning the World Series. It’s more of a focus of trying to win every series like we did today and just keep going forward.”
And in October, the narrative will, of course, focus on results. The Braves are at the point where they are expected to make a deep run, and anything less will be seen as a failure.
The Braves have been somewhat disappointing in this first half – because of their offense. But they still sit 11 games over .500. It’s important to remember that they weren’t going to repeat their offensive performance from last season.
“I think we’ve done a good job of just grinding this thing out and staying relevant,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “I like where we are. I’d like it to be more, yeah. But I think under the circumstances, we’ve done a really good job of battling through the adversity and hanging in there. I’ll just continue to say it: I still think our best baseball is ahead of us.”
2. In the top of the sixth inning, d’Arnaud launched a three-run home run to give the Braves a four-run lead. In the top of the eighth, after the Padres pulled within two runs, d’Arnaud blasted a solo shot.
“He’s been there before,” Chris Sale said of d’Arnaud, who had a three-homer game earlier this season. “It seems like when he hits one, they come in bunches. He’s probably not too happy about the break.”
The offense as a whole, though, needs the break.
On Saturday, the Braves were shut out for the fifth time in 36 games. Their .241 batting average ranks 17th in the sport, their .709 OPS 14th. Their 109 home runs are tied for 10th – and they’ve been in the top five of this category over the last couple of years.
Over his last 26 games, dating to June 17, Olson is batting .145 – though he had a run-scoring single in Sunday’s win. He’s struck out 36 times in 96 at-bats in this stretch.
Adam Duvall is batting .192. Orlando Arcia is hitting .211. Austin Riley recently heated up, but among their regulars, the Braves have only one OPS higher than his .779: Marcell Ozuna at .960.
Is the offense’s best still ahead of it?
“Yes, definitely,” d’Arnaud said. “It’s been a funky couple of months, but it’s better it’s happening now than in September. We’re gonna all be able to rest and relax and kind of forget what’s been going on and come back and play the baseball we all know we can.”
The Braves can use this breather.
“I think a mental break is going to be huge for a lot of these guys,” Snitker said. “They put a lot into this half, they’ve worked their tails off. You see every night, how hard they go about it, and I think it’s probably coming at a really good time for a lot of guys.”
3. Sale might be the best first-half story in baseball. He’s brought so much to the Braves since the trade.
“A warrior,” d’Arnaud said. “Just ready to pitch any time he has the ball. Wants the ball every inning. He’s not afraid of anybody, and I think that speaks volumes to any pitcher. Especially when somebody comes back from a little rut that he had in his career, to come back and be who he is and who he was is pretty special.”
On Sunday, Sale only went five innings and 79 pitches. This was planned, Snitker said. The Braves didn’t have an obvious move to make in terms of calling someone up and sending someone down, the manager said, but they might’ve skipped Sale if they did.
Sale allowed only a run. He turned in the latest solid start in a first half full of them.
On Sunday, Oakland hung 18 runs in Philadelphia, which was enough to unseat the Phillies from their place atop the team ERA rankings.
At the break, the Braves lead all of baseball with their 3.40 ERA.
They’ve regularly built in rest days for their starters. Their bullpen hasn’t been too overworked. The MLB leader in appearances, San Francisco’s Tyler Rogers, has 49 of them. No Braves reliever has more than 38 outings (Joe Jiménez).
And in this first half, they’ve shown the value of organizational depth.
“Very much so,” Snitker said. “Especially pitching depth. We’ve tapped it all and we’ll continue to do so. Our pitching has been really, really good. The bullpen guys have done a fabulous job, the starters. We’re grinding away to get hitting on all cylinders offensively.”
4. In the bottom of the first, the Padres had runners on second and third. Sale had already given up a run.
Ha-Seong Kim hit a ball that appeared destined to roll between Riley and Arcia and into left field.
But Riley dove to stop it, then popped up and fired to first to get Kim, a fast runner.
If not for that highlight play, two runs would’ve scored. The Padres would’ve led, 3-0.
“I think that saved the game,” Sale said. “Very rarely do you see something in the first inning kind of dictate the game. But it should’ve been 3-0 right there, and that changes the entire landscape of the game for sure – not only for myself, but as an offense.”
5. When they took two of three from the Phillies at Truist Park, the Braves pulled within eight games of first-place Philadelphia.
At the break, the Braves sit 8 1/2 games behind the Phillies. They lost a half-game over their road trip.
Atlanta is still 3 1/2 games ahead of the Cardinals for the NL’s top wild card spot. The Braves will see St. Louis when they return from the break.
The Braves hope to get on a run in the second half.
“We’ve said it all year now: We’re just waiting for it all to kind of click,” Sale said. “We had a great series here this weekend. Hopefully take some days off, kind of re-generate and hit the ground rolling (after the break).”
Stat to know
13 - Sale on Sunday became the sixth Braves pitcher to win at least 13 games before the break since the All-Star Game came into existence in 1933. The last to do it: John Smoltz, who won 14 games before the break in 1996.
Quotable
“Go home, get some rest. I think we’re right there. We’re as close as we’ve been. After a good series like this, going into the break on a good note, get some rest and come back ready to go.”-Sale on if the offense is close to breaking out
Up next
The Braves return to action on Friday versus the Cardinals at Truist Park. First pitch is at 7:20 p.m.
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