ATLANTA – The nearly two-month hitting malaise might be over for the Atlanta Braves.
Beginning with a 6-3 win Thursday at Baltimore and through a weekend series against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Braves hit .297 with nine home runs while averaging seven runs per game, including a .914 OPS during a three-game winning streak before Sunday’s 8-6 loss. Before those four games, the Braves lost 24 of 41 games and hit .217 with 37 homers and a .631 OPS while averaging just under 3.4 runs.
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“We’re healing, they’re starting to be more themselves,” said manager Brian Snitker, referring to Braves hitters after they helped reduce the deficit from 10 games to eight behind the NL East-leading Phillies since Wednesday.
Three takeaways from the Braves’ uptick:
Austin Riley’s emotional resurgence
As Austin Riley fought through an 11-pitch at-bat in the eighth inning Sunday, fouling off three full-count offerings from Rays reliever Jason Adam before hitting a 437-foot two-run homer that was his third in as many days, all he could think of was Mike Brumley.
Brumley, 61, was the former Braves minor-league hitting coordinator who continued to work with Riley since leaving the organization after the 2021 season. Brumley died in a car accident late Saturday.
“I got a text at about 2:30 this morning, and have been up since,” said Riley, who fought back tears as he discussed their relationship. “There’s very few people that have been role models in my baseball career, my dad being No. 1, and Mike Brumley being No. 2. But this isn’t about me, I feel for his family and his kids and everybody that he was close to. Just such a tragic, tragic day. Prayers out to his family.”
“There are very few people that have been role models in my baseball career. My dad is number one and Mike Brumley is number two.”
Austin Riley comments on former Braves hitting instructor Mike Brumley, who was killed in a car accident on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/kJ76TT2l2F
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) June 16, 2024
Riley was with Brumley a few days earlier in Baltimore, working to correct flaws that had cropped up in his swing.
“There were a few things mechanically that were kind of tying me up,” said Riley, who came out of the session feeling good about things, then went 6-for-10 with a double, three home runs, one strikeout and eight RBIs in the three-game series against the Rays.
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Before that, he hit .161 with no homers, 17 strikeouts and two RBIs in his previous 16 games since returning from a two-week absence for a side-muscle strain.
“Through that at-bat, he was in the back of my mind the whole time, really all day,” said Riley, whose 11-pitch at-bat was the longest of his career to end in a homer. “Besides my dad talking about my swing every day, I talk to (Brumley) on a regular basis. So it’s going to be tough going forward, just from a mental standpoint, just trying to figure things out.”
Struggles at back of rotation
Extra rest that Atlanta starters are getting in most turns has worked well for the veterans at the top of the rotation, particularly Chris Sale (9-2, 2.98 ERA) and Reynaldo López (MLB-leading 1.69 ERA). The strategy was most intended for the duo because Sale pitched so few innings in his past five injury-plagued seasons and Lopez was a reliever who hadn’t pitched as many as 70 innings since 2019.
But if the Braves are to continue using five or six starters each time through the rotation – they say they will for now – they need to trade for another proven starter, unless they are really confident in Ian Anderson’s expected post-All-Star break return from Tommy John surgery.
The cast they’ve plugged into back-end duties have struggled, with seven pitchers making 16 starts in those No. 5-6 spots and pitching to a cumulative 1-10 record and 7.40 ERA. That includes top prospect Hurston Waldrep, who has a 16.71 ERA in his first MLB starts, including no decision Sunday.
Waldrep made his MLB debut last week and his second start Sunday, having a fourth-inning meltdown in each. Four of six runs he allowed Sunday came on a fourth-inning grand slam by Ben Rortvedt, on an 0-2 fastball up and in, but not up enough or in enough. The previous three reached on a hit-by-pitch and consecutive walks.
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He has a good fastball and terrific splitter, but hasn’t looked ready for the big stage after being promoted with only 84 2/3 innings and 18 starts in the minor leagues.
“Absolutely he needs more time,” Snitker said after the Braves optioned Waldrep back to Triple A following the game. “I told him, he’s got stuff, he’s got intangibles, he’s got the whole thing, he just lacks experience.”
No. 2 prospect Spencer Schwellenbach is 0-2 with a 6.32 ERA in his first three MLB starts, but pitched six solid innings of four-hit, two-run ball Wednesday at Baltimore, and looks like he might be ready to stick around.
Jarred Kelenic shines in leadoff spot
Less than three weeks after losing superstar leadoff hitter Ronald Acuña Jr. to a season-ending knee injury, the Braves put center fielder and replacement leadoff man Michael Harris II on the 15-day IL with a Grade 2 hamstring strain Friday.
Enter Jarred Kelenic, who moved from left field to center and from the bottom third of the order to leadoff, going 4-for-10 with two homers in his first two games there.
Kelenic’s three homers in the last seven games equaled his total in his first 49 games for Atlanta, and his .847 OPS over the past 30 days is the third-highest among Braves behind NL homer and RBI leader Marcell Ozuna (1.000) and Matt Olson (.929).
(Top photo of Austin Riley: Matthew Grimes Jr. / Atlanta Braves/Getty Images)
David O'Brien is a senior writer covering the Atlanta Braves for The Athletic. He previously covered the Braves for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and covered the Marlins for eight seasons, including the 1997 World Series championship. He is a two-time winner of the NSMA Georgia Sportswriter of the Year award. Follow David on Twitter @DOBrienATL
