Braves attempt to wake the bats in opener against Athletics

The Atlanta Braves will look to resolve their recent offensive woes when they open a three-game series against the visiting Oakland Athletics on Friday night.

This will be the first meeting between the teams this season. The Athletics have won two of three against the Braves in 2023.

Oakland fell to 6-18 in its last 24 games after dropping a 6-5 decision in 12 innings to the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday. Atlanta, in turn, lost for the fifth time in seven outings with a 3-1 loss to the Washington Nationals.

The Braves have averaged just three runs over their last six games and have been held to two runs or less four times during that stretch.

“I wish I knew what it was, told them and we would fix it,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “We’re going to do like last year and keep working. It’s not an easy thing to start. It’s a hard thing to do.”

The Braves tied a major league record for home runs last year, but have gone deep just 57 times this season. Atlanta has been without a home run in 19 games, more than in the entire 2013 season. The Braves are 7-12 when not hitting a home run.

The pitching matchups in the series opener will pit Atlanta right-hander Reynaldo Lopez (2-2, 1.75 ERA) against Oakland left-hander JP Sears (4-3, 3.88).

Lopez was originally scheduled to start Thursday against Washington, but the Braves opted to give him an extra day off. Atlanta monitored his innings as he made the transition from the bullpen to the rotation.

Lopez will make his 10th start of the season and is aiming for his first victory since April 16. He lost his most recent start Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates after working 4 2/3 innings and allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits. , a walk and three strikeouts. It was his shortest outing of the year.

During his career, Lopez faced Oakland seven times, five of them as a starter, going 2-2 with a 0.89 ERA. He pitched a scoreless relief appearance against the Athletics last year. His most recent starts against the A’s came in 2021 when he allowed three runs, one earned, in 10 innings and went 1-1 with a 0.90 ERA.

Sears will be making his 12th start of the season. In his most recent outing, Saturday against Houston, he earned the victory after allowing an unearned run on two hits in six innings of the A’s 3-1 win.

“A lot of the season is just trying to be available as much as possible,” Sears said.

Sears has been a mainstay for Oakland’s pitching staff, which has suffered its fair share of injuries of late.

“Through April we had five players in the rotation and in May we lost four of five,” Oakland manager Mark Kotsay said. “So for JP, it’s a testament to his resilience. He’s coming off a year where he made all 32 of his starts, and I know he’s determined to do it again. That’s his mindset.”

Sears faced the Braves once in 2023 and received a no-decision after allowing one run in six innings.

–Field level media