Atlanta Braves win three games in first half of season

SAN DIEGO — Given that the Braves lost reigning National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. to a season-ending knee injury in late May and lost preseason Cy Young favorite Spencer Strider in early April, it should perhaps come as no surprise that the six-time defending NL East champions are 8 1/2 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Braves’ top three starting pitchers — All-Stars Chris Sale, Reynaldo López and Max Fried — pitched well, and a deep bullpen posted a major-league-best 3.40 ERA. And if the Braves had anything remotely resembling their 2023 overpowering offense, they’d likely be on par with or ahead of the Phillies.

Atlanta had one of its few solid offensive performances Sunday when Sale pitched five one-run innings and Travis d’Arnaud homered twice in a decisive 6-3 victory at San Diego to end a 4-3 trip and close out the figurative first half of the season.

“These are tough months, but it’s better that it’s happening now than in September,” said d’Arnaud, who drove in four runs. “We’re all going to be able to rest and relax, forget about what happened and get back to playing the baseball we all know how to do.”

Chris Sale’s 13 wins are the most by a Braves pitcher at the All-Star break since John Smoltz’s 14 in 1996. (Denis Poroy/Getty Images)

D’Arnaud also recorded his third career stolen base and first since 2020, sprinting toward second base in the fourth inning when unsuspecting Padres starter Randy Vásquez threw full-throttle.

D’Arnaud, a Los Angeles native whose parents, brother and nephew were in attendance, was happy to have a big game ahead of them and help Sale (13-3) become the first Braves starter with at least 13 wins before the break since John Smoltz had 14 during his 24-win Cy Young Award-winning season in 1996.

“It means I’ve had a hell of a bullpen backing me up, good offensive support and great defense,” Sale said. “I appreciate that. I’m lucky to be where I am. There’s still a lot of work to do. We’re only halfway there, it’s not a good thing yet.”

“We’ve said it all year, we’re just waiting for everything to go our way. We had a great run this weekend. Hopefully we can come back after the break, take a few days off and be able to recharge and get going again. I think we’re there. We’ve never been closer to winning.”

The Phillies, after sweeping the Dodgers, lost two of three games against Oakland before the break, but they still have the best record in baseball and a comfortable lead in the division.

Matt Olson, losing momentum, will not play this match

After making the All-Star Game in two of the last three seasons, struggling first baseman Matt Olson will head home to rejuvenate during this break, as will the rest of the Braves infielders who joined him on the 2023 All-Star team. Catcher Sean Murphy, Acuña, Strider and pitcher Bryce Elder were also All-Stars last season.

None of those eight All-Stars have returned this season. Elder is in Triple-A, Murphy missed two months with an oblique strain, and the others have had statistical declines, but none have been as quick as Olson.

His career-best season last year only made this one more confusing for Olson, who has 13 homers, 44 RBIs and a .714 OPS. He’s hitting .229 with 109 strikeouts and 36 walks after hitting .283 with 167 strikeouts and 104 walks last season.

After a disappointing start to the 2024 season, Olson heated up with a .331 average, 10 homers and a .976 OPS in his next 33 games through June 16. But he’s back on the rout, hitting .168 with two homers, five RBIs, 34 strikeouts and a .509 OPS in 26 games before Sunday, when he hit a game-tying RBI single in the fourth inning.

“Of course you want to play in the All-Star Game and have that honor,” he said. “But having some time to decompress is also a good thing.”

Sometimes it’s probably best to rest

With the exception of All-Star designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, who was flying to Arlington, Texas, with Atlanta’s All-Star pitchers on a private jet after Sunday’s game, the rest of the Braves were told to take a break and return Friday ready for a strong second half of the season. They won’t gather for any batting practice until then.

“We’re going home. (Manager Brian Snitker) wants us all to get four days off,” said hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, who has spent many sleepless nights in recent months trying to figure out which buttons to push and playing Whac-A-Mole to try to help multiple players who are simultaneously losing steam. “And these guys need a break, both mentally and physically.”

“So that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to take a break.”

A year ago, the Braves entered the All-Star break leading the major leagues by a wide margin in home runs (169), slugging percentage (.492) and OPS (.830), and ranked second in average (.270), OBP (.338) and runs per game (5.6).

This year, they are tied for 10th in home runs (109), 11th in batting average (.405), 14th in OPS (.709), 17th in average (.241), 23rd in OBP (.304) and 18th in runs per game (4.28).

Evaluation of the starting position

Michael Harris II was struggling like most of the Braves’ hitters, but the smooth-shooting center fielder was 6-for-18 with a triple in his last five games before suffering a Grade 2 left hamstring strain on June 14. He was starting to feel comfortable in the leadoff spot he primarily occupied after Acuña’s knee injury on May 26.

Harris has been sidelined since then and has yet to be cleared to return to action, so it will likely be at least a few weeks before he returns. But one of the few bright spots in the Braves’ lineup has been the work of Jarred Kelenic, who has moved from left field to center field and from the bottom of the order to the leadoff spot after Harris’ injury.

After hitting .316 with 15 extra-base hits, including seven homers, and a .937 OPS in a 33-game stretch through June 29, Kelenic is 8-for-56 (.143) with three extra-base hits in his last 14 games.

“I thought he did a phenomenal job,” Harris said Sunday morning. “I guess leadoff is not the easiest position to get to. But he did really well. And playing center field, he did really well. He did a great job, in my opinion.”

Harris will return to center field once he’s ready to rejoin the Braves, but what about the leadoff position? It’s unclear what the Braves will do with that role, but should Kelenic continue to struggle, it’s possible Harris could return to his leadoff duties as well.

“I was just getting used to being the point guard, getting comfortable before this injury,” Harris said. “It doesn’t matter where I’m at when I get back, as long as I’m productive and I help the team.”

(Top photo of Matt Olson: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)