MIAMI — With Sunday’s 4-3 loss to Miami at loanDepot park, the Braves failed to sweep the Marlins. Atlanta is 19-22.
Here are five observations:
1. To this point, the Braves have played the Dodgers, the Mets, the Padres twice and the Brewers twice. Now they get to play, in order, the Phillies, Marlins, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Athletics, Pirates, Nationals and Cubs until hosting the Giants in June.
A lot can change before that, and the Braves respect each opponent, but this softer part of the schedule could allow Atlanta to string together some wins, right?
…
Right?
“I’ll be honest: I have no clue who we’re playing tomorrow,” Adam Duvall said. “I will know when I get to the field tomorrow.”
He added: “When I mean focus on today, I don’t know who we’re playing tomorrow. That’s how locked in and focused I was on just trying to win today’s game.”
Whether you believe that, the point is that baseball is a daily grind. Friday’s series opener in Miami, at the time, began a stretch of 29 consecutive games versus teams with losing records.
Duvall said he tries not to reflect on what happened. He simply remains focused on the current day. Teams, he said, will have winning and losing streaks during a season.
“The one thing that can stay constant is the way you show up and work, and the preparation that you put in for that game,” he said. “You can’t control the production and things. You can hit the ball as hard as you want, and it can go straight to somebody. But you can control the work that you put in and the effort and the concentration level that you (use) to try and prepare.”
2. Still, the Braves have played tough competition over the first month and change of the season. They realistically could use this next month to find their footing and put together a winning streak or two.
“Yeah, this could be a good stretch,” Ian Anderson said. “We’re looking forward to getting home. We haven’t played the Phillies yet this year. Feel like we always bring it a little more against them and have the intensity, so we’re looking forward to that series. But, yeah, think it has a chance to be a good stretch. We have some guys coming into form and, like I said, we’re excited to get back home.”
3. Sandy Alcantara entered this game with a 2.20 ERA over 45 career innings versus the Braves, and they haven’t yet hit a homer off him in his nine outings against them.
Alcantara on Sunday tossed a complete game. He allowed three runs, but none were earned. The Braves scored twice in the ninth to push him, but he never gave in as he finished the game.
“I think he’s creating a name for himself,” said Duvall, Alcantara’s teammate in Miami for part of last season. “I don’t think he’s going to get swept under the rug for too long. He’s got great stuff.”
4. Last year’s Braves were also 19-22 through 41 games. Yeah, yeah, you’re probably tired of hearing about last season. But it could be a cautionary tale about what could happen if you write off a team too early.
“We have a ton of guys that have been through a lot,” Anderson said. “And even the ones that haven’t experienced the last two years, throughout their minor-league career or whatnot, with other teams, they’ve been through a lot. It’s going to help.
“This division’s not won yet; it’s still early. We kind of know that. We’re ready to bring the same attitude, bring the consistency. That’s kind of the key thing that’s helped us be where we have been the last two years. Yeah, we’ll start getting breaks, things start going our way and we’ll take advantage of those.”
5. In the seventh inning, Travis Demeritte caught a fly ball for the second out but hesitated as a Miami baserunner tagged up at third and went home. It appeared Demeritte forgot how many outs there were in the inning.
“He did,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.
Stat to know
3 – The Braves have not yet won three games in a row this season. Pittsburgh and Washington are the only other teams without a three-game winning streak.
Quotable
“It’s such a long season. We got guys in this locker room that know they’re not playing to their potential, but when they do, watch out. And then that’s exciting. We don’t know who’s going to break out when, but no, it’s a good series, good series win, and we’re going to build off of it.” – Anderson on the state of the team
Up next
The Braves on Monday begin a series versus the Phillies at Truist Park. Atlanta lefty Tucker Davidson will face Philadelphia righty Zack Wheeler in the opener, which begins at 7:20 p.m.
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