Braves Keep it Rolling, Club Cubs 5-2

There is so much to like about this Braves team.  After tonight’s 5-2 victory over the Cubs, the Braves are 29-13.  That is the second best record after 42 games in Atlanta Braves history.  (The great 1997 team started 31-11.)

The Braves outhit the Cubs to 11-1 on the night. Mike Yasztremski went 2 for 2 with 3 rbi, including his first home run of the season and a run-scoring single.  It’s been frustrating to watch him struggle; I’m hoping he’s finding his stroke and is about to streak.  Dom Smith went 4 for 4 with four singles to raise his BA to .361.  Dom’s been stroking and streaking all year. Austin Riley had 2 hits, including a solo homer, and he also hit one 386 to the wall in right but was robbed on a leaping catch by PCA.  Austin has found his stroke.  Matt Olson continues to stroke; he drove in the 5^th run, and he leads MLB in rbi with 37.

Grant Holmes got the start, and for the first 3 innings he was brilliant.  The only baserunner he surrendered was one base on balls.  The bullpen was even better.  Fuentes went 3 scoreless, with no hits, 3 K’s and 1 BB.  Dylan Lee got them 1-2-3 in the 8^th, and Iggy got them in order in the 9^th for the save.  Indeed, the pen set down the final 14 Cub hitters.  If you’re counting, that’s 8 no hit scoreless innings with only 2 walks.  But if you probably know that you need to get them out for 9 innings.  The 4^th was not like the other innings.  Holmes only needed 39 pitches to get through 3, but he tossed another 39 in the 4^th.  It was a classic Episode.  In fact, it was eerily similar to the 6^th inning by Elder on Sunday.  In both games, a guy who is pitching as well as he is capable all of a sudden couldn’t throw a strike to save his life.  Holmes surrendered a homer to Bregman on a 3-2 pitch that was out of the zone.  He then walked the next 3 batters, the second and third on 8 straight pitches. With the bases loaded, Holmes still couldn’t find the plate.  He missed badly on the first three pitches to Ballesteros, but fortunately he fouled off one of those that was a foot above the zone.  Holmes induced a groundout that scored a run, and despite being in the throes of his Episode, he managed to strike out Swanson on 3 pitches.  To be fair, 2 of the 3 to Dansby were out of the zone, but the ump missed the call on one and Swanson waved at a ball in the dirt.

Fuentes took over in the 5^th, and as noted, sailed through 3 hitless innings.  The kid looks better each time out.  It had to be tempting to lift Holmes in the middle of his Episode in the 4^th, but Weiss wisely didn’t bring Didi on with the bases loaded. 

The Braves are clicking on all cylinders.  The lead MLB in runs scored, and they have given up the fewest runs in MLB.  Pitchers are pitching, hitters are hitting, and fielders are fielding. That’s a recipe for success if I’ve ever seen one.  Given how great everything is going, I hate to bring up the one area that isn’t working.  There is one cylinder that’s clanking a lot more than it’s clicking; it’s sticking a lot more than it’s stroking. Baserunners are getting picked off at alarming and unprecedented rates.  Two more were picked off first tonight.  That makes 10 for the season.  Last year, only 10 were picked off in 162 games.

I’ve been assuming the pickoffs are happening because they are emphasizing the stolen base more this season.  Bigger leads and leaning more toward second to get a jump can lead to more pickoffs.  The Braves hired Antoan Richardson from the Mets to help the running game.  Everyone agreed it was a great hire; the Mets’ stolen base numbers last year were phenomenal.  They were 9^th in MLB with 147 SB, but the SB percentage was 89!!  That’s pretty incredible.  The second best rate was 82%; the gap in SB percentage between the Mets and the #2 was as big as the gap between #2 and the 25^th best team.  By the way, the Mets’ baserunners were only picked off 14 times.

These pickoffs are bad, but have the Braves at least improved in stolen bases?  You probably know already they haven’t.  In fact, they are worse.  Last year, the Braves were 26^th in MLB in stolen bases; their stolen base percentage was 77%, right in the middle of the pack.  This year, they have moved up to 21^st in MLB in stolen bases, but the percentage is terrible at 68%, tied for last in all of MLB.  They’ve stolen 21 bases, but had 10 caught stealings and those 10 pickoffs.  For a team that is doing so well in every other category, that is unbelievably bad.

So why is this happening?  I have no idea.  Richardson by all accounts was personally responsible for the Mets’ great baserunning success last year.  I’m sure it’s bound to get better under his tutelage (can’t get no worse), but they won’t approach the Mets levels from last year.  But that’s picking nits.  The Braves have a 12.5 game lead over the Mets.  I can live with the pickoffs and caught stealings if the Braves keep playing .683 ball.

Weiss was asked about all the pickoffs in the post-game.  He first said something about how they were trying to be more aggressive on the bases, but he also said the pickoffs are not acceptable and that they were going to have to change their approach.  Still, he said that Richardson is doing a terrific job.  That last touch reminded me so much of Bobby Cox.

Tomorrow, they keep it rolling behind JR Ritchie.  The kid has a lot to live up to.  The last 3 starters, Strider, Elder, and Holmes, have given up just one hit each.  Let’s hope he doesn’t, like the last two, also have an inning in which he completely forgets how to pitch.  I’m betting against an Episode for the third game in a row.