The Atlanta Braves are seven-time defending NL East champions and have the majors’ best record (20-9), so why do many of their fans seem so stressed out lately?
Part of it is the weight of high expectations. But there’s also the fresh memory of consecutive NL Division Series losses to rival Philadelphia after the Braves finished 14 games ahead of the Phillies both times in the regular season. Never mind that the Braves hadn’t lost a series this season or even dropped consecutive games until a pair of defeats at Seattle on Monday and Tuesday. Atlanta was the last team in the majors to lose two in a row.
Braves fans now see the Phillies nipping at their heels in the standings, see three of the top four hitters in Atlanta’s lineup struggling, and some start getting flashbacks to the NLDS offensive collapse. Especially when they are arguably the three biggest stars of an offense that set or tied several franchise and MLB records a year ago.
Here’s the stock report on some key Braves entering May.
Stock up
Max Fried
Reynaldo López has been the Braves’ surprising best starter through April, but the veteran lefty Max Fried finished the month with a flourish. After posting a shocking 18.00 ERA in his first two starts and a .329 opponents average through four starts, the perennial Cy Young Award contender has looked like himself in his past two starts. Fried pitched a three-hit, nine-inning shutout in 92 pitches with no walks against the Marlins on April 23, then went six hitless and scoreless innings Monday at Seattle, when he exited only because his pitch count already was at 100. Fried has given up just three hits and two walks with 13 strikeouts in 15 scoreless innings over those past two starts while lowering his ERA from 7.71 to 4.02.
Chris Sale
He’s not just meeting or surpassing expectations on the mound, the lanky left-hander is also a strong presence in the clubhouse and a fiery competitor whom teammates say they love playing behind. Sale’s streak of three games with seven innings pitched in each ended Wednesday at Seattle, but he impressed again, limiting the Mariners to one run and six hits in five innings, with no walks and a season-high nine strikeouts. He trimmed his ERA to 3.44, and Sale has had just one bad game — five runs allowed in seven innings at Miami. In his other five outings, the 35-year-old is 4-0 with a 2.92 ERA and has 15 strikeouts with one walk and two runs allowed in 12 innings over his past two starts against a pair of first-place teams, Cleveland and Seattle.
