The Braves are heading into a home stand with plenty of questions and very little margin for error.
Atlanta’s once-comfortable NL East cushion has been trimmed to three games in just over a month, thanks in part to Philadelphia’s rebound after a rough April. The Braves, meanwhile, are stumbling through June at 9-13 after dropping five of six against the Padres and Giants last week. Now they’re back at home for seven straight games, starting with a three-game set against the Cardinals before the Mets come in for four.
The pressure doesn’t stop with the standings. Atlanta’s rotation has been uneven, the offense has gone cold, and if those problems keep dragging on, Alex Anthopoulos is expected to explore outside help as the trade deadline gets closer.
Tuesday night’s opener brings Martin Perez against Matthew Liberatore at 7:15 p.m. The Braves will also send Reynaldo Lopez to the mound Wednesday night against Michael McGreevy.
Lopez, who shifted to the bullpen near the end of April, gave up one run in three innings Friday against San Francisco, then watched Hurston Waldrep follow with a shaky season debut that included four walks in two innings. Walt Weiss said Lopez and Waldrep could piggyback again on Wednesday.
Thursday is still up in the air. Dustin May is listed for St.
Louis, but Atlanta hasn’t settled on its starter yet. Bryce Elder lasted just four innings against the Giants on Saturday, and Grant Holmes had to come out of relief.
Elder has given up 19 earned runs over his last 14 innings across three starts and is lined up to work on normal rest Thursday. Even so, the Braves may decide to give him extra time after his velocity dipped during Saturday’s outing.
If that happens, Holmes looks like the most likely fallback.
At the plate, Atlanta has been the worst-hitting team in baseball this month. The numbers are brutal: a 65 wRC+, the lowest in the majors in June. Drake Baldwin hasn’t gotten a hit since June 17, Ha-Seong Kim has only five hits on the year, and Austin Riley and Matt Olson are still grinding through long slumps.
That leaves the Braves needing a reset from the same lineup that was one of the sport’s most productive groups in April and May.
St. Louis arrives with a few steady bats of its own.
Alec Burleson has posted an .824 OPS, Ivan Herrera sits at .807, and Jordan Walker has produced an .859 OPS. All three have been reliable all season, and they’ll be worth tracking against a Braves pitching staff that is still trying to sort itself out.
In Other News...
Braves Bullpen Plan Is Running Into A Problem Fans Saw Coming
The Braves went into the season built to win games late, with the front office leaning into bullpen depth and trying to keep its best relievers fresh for October. In practice, though, that plan has had to survive a stretched rotation and a month of uneven starting pitching, with June exposing how quickly one part of the roster can unravel when another is being protected.
Chris Sale is a big part of the tension. Atlanta has kept him off regular rest for much of the season, and he is lined up for his fourth start of June and his first in 10 days, a reminder of how carefully the club has managed its ace while trying to cover for thinner starting depth. Add in injuries that have taken Raisel Iglesias and Robert Suarez out of the late-inning mix at different points, plus high-leverage innings that have already gone sideways, and the Braves are finding out what fans feared when the roster was built: a strong bullpen plan only works if the rest of the pitching staff can hold up around it. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Offensive Collapse Puts One Uncomfortable Question Front And Center
The Braves lineup has gone from one of the National Leagues more productive groups in May to a far murkier operation in June, and the numbers tell a frustratingly familiar story for a team that expected its offense to carry more of the load. Injuries have been part of the backdrop throughout the month, with Ronald Acua Jr., Michael Harris II, Sean Murphy, Drake Baldwin, Eli White and Ha-Seong Kim all dealing with their own issues or delays, leaving Atlanta to patch together run production as the roster has thinned out.
Mauricio Dubon has at least given the club a modest lift with a stronger June, but the larger concern is whether the Braves are seeing a temporary slump or something more systemic as the lineup keeps shuffling. When the bats are this quiet and the available pieces keep changing, the conversation naturally drifts beyond the players on the field and toward how much responsibility still falls on the coaching staff to find answers before the season drifts any farther off course. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Make A Veteran Move As Pressure Builds During Brutal Slide
The Braves have been searching for answers during a rough stretch that has left them with 11 losses in their last 15 games, and the issues have not been confined to one area. The offense has been uneven, the starting pitching has not held up its end, and with the July trade deadline approaching, general manager Alex Anthopoulos has already signaled that the club expects to be active in the market.
Carlos Santana is part of that broader effort to stabilize the roster, bringing a long track record and some postseason pedigree from his time with Cleveland, including the 2016 World Series run. The veteran first baseman will begin at Triple-A, with the possibility of working his way into the major league picture if the Braves decide they need more help on the right side of the infield and in a potential platoon role. [Read more 🡒]