CHICAGO — Hall of Fame executive Bobby Cox always said, “You play the schedule.” In other words, you don’t change your approach based on whether the current portion of a schedule is deemed easy or difficult.
Well, the Braves have braced themselves as they’ve spent the past few weeks cruising through a simple portion of their schedule. But after clinching a 6-0 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sunday afternoon, it was time for them to look forward to a chance to pit themselves against some of the National League’s top teams.
“It was a good road trip,” said Braves starting pitcher Ian Anderson. “We lost the first two here [in Chicago], so cutting a good trip was a big focus today. Now we can go home and hopefully we’ll be as hot as the weather there.”
After saying goodbye to a 14-game win-two-loss streak to start this weekend’s streak in Chicago, the Braves avoided a three-game sweep with help from home runs from Travis d’Arnaud and Michael Harris II. d’Arnaud’s three-run homer in the first inning and Harris’ solo shot in the fifth provided some cushion for Anderson, who conceded three hits over 6 2/3 innings scoreless.
With the Braves winning 15 of their last 17 games, they have reduced their National League East deficit by five games and now sit 5 1/2 games behind the Mets in first place. They achieved this success at the expense of the Rockies, A’s, Pirates and Nationals. But games against teams with a losing record are not gimmes. Remember, that winning streak was preceded by two ugly losses in Arizona and punctuated by two losses here in Wrigley.
Now the Braves are heading home to play four games against the Giants and three against the Dodgers. After taking on these NL West powers, they will travel to Philadelphia to play in three games against a Phillies club that was also unbeatable for most of June.
“It’s a tough job, but everyone goes through it,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker. “I think we did a good job on that last stretch of beating the teams that should be beaten and that’s not easy. That’s really hard to do.”
By the time July arrives, it will be easier to gauge where the Braves stand in their bid to win a fifth straight NL East crown and a second straight World Series.
Why are the Braves in better shape now?
Ronald Acuña Jr. and Harris:
Several issues were resolved when Harris was brought up by Double-A Mississippi on May 28 and Acuña began playing daily right field on June 1. Marcell Ozuna transitioned from defensive duty to batsman-designate and Adam Duvall became the primary left fielder. Now the Braves have one of the better defensive outfields in the game.
Duvall has benefited from putting less stress on his legs than he does in midfield. The veteran outfielder finished May at .526 OPS and has produced .984 OPS this month. He is now in line with expectations after hitting a 38 homer season and Harris has continued to exceed expectations while hitting .321 with three homers (all across) and an .884 OPS.
Harris has allayed concerns about how ready he was when he was promoted from Double-A with just 197 games above high school level under his belt.
“Michael Harris just keeps learning and is amazing with the power going the other way,” Snitker said. “He jumped over that ball. It’s very impressive how he treated himself.”
Rotation:
The Braves successfully stabilized their rotation when they moved Spencer Strider from the bullpen to rotation on May 30. Strider’s first start was marred by some defensive errors. But he posted a 1.76 ERA in three starts this month. Anderson stumbled against the Nationals on Tuesday, but he has now reached the sixth inning in nine of his last 10 starts. That production from the final two spots of the rotation kept stress off a bullpen that leads the NL with a 2.92 ERA.
“When it’s your day, you want to go out and perform,” Anderson said. “I think the line-up is the same. They see the guys get going and they want to be there.”
Relay a message:
Yes, the lineup looked very deep despite Matt Olson producing just .661 OPS in 17 games in June. But while some of Olson’s numbers aren’t where they were expected after replacing Freddie Freeman, his three doubles on Sunday increased his MLB lead tally to 27. He’s on track to hit 65 doubles this year. Earl Webb set the 1931 MLB single-season record with 67 doubles. No player has produced a 60-doubles season since 1936.
“He hit some balls really, really well,” Snitker said. “He’s having this stroke now. So that’s great.”