Braves Series On Homestand Preview Of Playoffs
The Braves series on their current homestand are against two teams that should be in the playoffs: The New York Mets and Houston Astros. The Astros chances to defend their AL pennant look to be pretty good. Houston’s team is well rounded, and Justin Verlander is having one of the best seasons of his career at 39. The Mets are a similar team, and Jacob Degrom and Max Scherzer both pitch against Atlanta this week.
The Braves starters have to try to and match some of the best pitching in MLB. The status of Max Fried and Kyle Wright remains uncertain for Atlanta. Fried suffered a concussion in his last start and Wright missed his last start due to arm fatigue. The Braves need both starters healthy. The pitchers the team faces this week are good preperation for the postseason. If the playoffs started today every team currently in the NL’s top six would finish in the top 10 in MLB in ERA.
Braves Need A Healthy, Productive Acuna
The play above shows why Ronald Acuna Jr. must remain healthy and productive for Atlanta. Running down to second Acuna in the same game against the Miami Marlins he experienced soreness in his surgically repaired knee. The Marlins intentionally walked him in when he pinch hit Sunday.
Other hitters, such as Marcell Ozuna and Eddie Rosario, also need to step up to help Atlanta through this tough stretch. As mentioned before Acuna represents something different. Few players in MLB make the throw he made after cutting a ball off in the outfield. At the plate in his last 15 games he is .375/.426/.571. That’s much more along the lines of what Braves fan are used to seeing from him. If the Braves are to catch the and pass the Mets for the NL East title Acuna will have to be a big part of why they did.
Braves Record Against Teams Over .500 Must Improve
The Braves record against .500 teams makes this weeks homestand so important. Only the Los Angeles Dodgers and Mets have winning records against teams over .500 of the top six teams in the NL. Having a winning, 5-2 homestand, would give the team confidence it can compete in October. Given the competition the Braves will face trying to repeat they will need it.