Three takeaways from the Atlanta Braves: RISP woes, Schwellenbach’s bad inning, memory of “Baby Bull”

ATLANTA — The Braves reached the halfway point of an erratic season Saturday with a 46-35 record, before losing 4-2 Sunday to the Pittsburgh Pirates. And it’s worth noting that in the previous 20 times they won at least that many games midway through the team’s Atlanta era (since 1966), the Braves advanced to the playoffs 17 times.

This is the glass-half-full view.

Of course, the Braves are aiming to do much more than make the playoffs, after National League Division Series losses each of the last two years to the Philadelphia Phillies, who finished 14 games behind Atlanta each of those regular seasons. If the six-time defending NL East champions hope to overcome the current eight-game deficit against the Phillies or maintain their lead in the wild-card standings, the Braves need a more consistent offense.

The offense remained moribund for seven weeks, averaging 4.6 points in the first 18 games of June, then regressed again to a .198 average over the final eight games, with 24 runs scored during that stretch, including six runs in a win over Pittsburgh.

Do not capitalize

“It was tough to get a big hit,” said manager Brian Snitker, whose Braves were 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position in Sunday’s loss, and are tied for 18th with an OPS of .729 with runners in scoring position, after ranking third with an OPS of .823 last season.

#Braves losing 4–2 in the series finale to the Pirates, Atlanta’s second home loss in 10 games. Braves 0-for-5 with RISP, Schwellenbach allowed 4 runs on 2 home runs in the fifth inning.

– David O’Brien (@DOBrienATL) June 30, 2024

In all situations with runners on base, the Braves are 14th in average (.255), 13th in slugging (.420) and 15th in OPS (.738). That’s shocking because a year ago, they led the majors by wide margins with their .284 average, .518 slugging percentage and .873 OPS with runners on base.

“That’s what’s frustrating, because of what guys are capable of,” Snitker said. “I just can’t put it up for an extended period of time where it’s flowing.”

Orlando Arcia’s .123 batting average (7 of 57) with runners in scoring position is the worst among MLB qualifiers, and his .304 OPS in those situations is not only the worst, it’s 179 points below the next lowest.

Austin Riley (.228) and Matt Olson (.227) have the team’s second and third highest ABs with runners in scoring position, and the second and third worst RISP averages among Braves qualifiers. Adam Duvall (.185) and Travis d’Arnaud (.196) have the worst RISP averages, but not enough at-bats to qualify.

Arcia and Duvall, along with players like Forrest Wall, are part of a bottom-third of the batting order that has been awful after recent Braves teams have had some of the most dangerous bottom-third hitters in baseball.

Riley, who ended his long slump with six home runs in his last 16 games and ranks among MLB leaders with a 1.044 OPS over the past 15 days, was not spared by the discomfort of the decisive hitters on Sunday. He was knocked out with two on base to end the first inning and hit a double play with runners on the corners and no outs in the fourth.

Schwellenbach’s problem in the fifth round

Rookie Spencer Schwellenbach made his sixth start Sunday and was doing well once again until the fifth inning, when he hit batter No. 9 early in the game and two outs later left a hit cutting on the first pitch above the plate that Oneil Cruz smashed for a 452-foot home run with an exit velocity of 117 mph.

Schwellenbach (1-4, 5.68 ERA) allowed a walk to the next batter before Rowdy Tellez crushed a waist-high 1-1 changeup for another home run. Overnight, the Pirates led 4-1 and Schwellenbach’s fifth-inning ERA jumped to 15.88.

The right-hander allowed 10 earned runs and seven extra-base hits (three home runs) in the fifth inning over six starts. He gave up no runs in the first and fourth innings, and a combined nine runs in the second and third innings. In his debut against the Washington Nationals on May 29, he went scoreless in four innings before allowing three runs in the fifth inning, including a three-run homer by Lane Thomas. He also gave up three runs in the fifth inning in his second start, on June 5 at Boston.

“Baby Bull” with the Braves

When the great Orlando Cepeda died Friday, talk of his Hall of Fame career centered on his nine seasons with the San Francisco Giants, with whom he was unanimously named NL Rookie of the Year in 1958 and runner-up MVP in 1961, and three seasons. with the St. Louis Cardinals, including his 1967 NL MVP award.

Orlando Cepeda spent several seasons in Atlanta and enjoyed his friendship with Hank Aaron. (Associated Press Kit)

But “Baby Bull” also played for the Braves from 1969 to 1972, and it was with Atlanta that Cepeda had his last great season, in 1970 — hitting .305 with 34 homers, 111 RBIs and a .908 OPS playing first base.

What is less known is why Cepeda, upon learning he had been traded to the Braves for Joe Torre, seriously considered retiring rather than playing for Atlanta, so concerned was he about things that he had heard about racism and the Jim Crow laws that existed until the 1960s in the South.

Cepeda’s concerns quickly dissipated after he was warmly welcomed to spring training in West Palm Beach, Fla., by the legendary Hank Aaron, a friend for the rest of his life.

Here is an excerpt from his autobiography, “Baby Bull: From Hardball to Hard Time and Back,” published in 1998:

Atlanta was part of the Old South, and I worried about the attitudes that persisted. But I soon discovered that much had changed, and my years with the Braves had been very happy ones. There were also two other bright spots in Atlanta: Felipe Alou and Hank Aaron.

Since being traded from the Giants to the Braves in 1964, Felipe had become a front-line star, leading the National League in hits in 1966 and again in 1968. He had moved with the team from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966. We had been through a lot together and had been good friends growing up, so I was thrilled to have Felipe back as a teammate.

Hank Aaron, of course, was the reigning superstar of the Braves. He had been with the franchise since 1954. I had always admired Hank on the ball field. We had been teammates in several All-Star Games, and I envied his extraordinary skills. But now I was about to learn what a wonderful guy, an honest man, and a good friend Hank could be.

Hank could do it all, and do it as well as anyone. He doesn’t often get the credit he deserves for being such a complete player. He could do everything Willie Mays could do, but he wasn’t nearly as brilliant. Just ask the people who played baseball with Hank day in and day out. They’ll tell you what a complete baseball player Hank was.

(Top photo by Spencer Schwellenbach: Dale Zanine/USA Today)