Adam Duvall Showing Signs of Life after Season-Long Slump
While, the Atlanta Braves took a tough 4-2 loss on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, outfielder Adam Duvall had himself another solid day at the plate. Duvall followed up his big day on Saturday going 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.
The Braves optioned Daysbel Hernandez to Gwinnett paving the way for A.J. Minter to return The Atlanta Braves announced Sunday that they have optioned reliever Daysbel Hernandez to Gwinnett.
The Atlanta Braves scored another series win but missed on an opportunity for sweep with a 4-2 loss to the Pirates Sunday. It has been an interesting stretch for the Braves who seemed to be finding their footing after winning eight of 10 games. That was however followed by a series loss in St. Louis and a 1-0 defeat to the last place White Sox to end the trip. Scoring a series win to start a long homestand was a good thing but also reminder of how inconsistent their offensive has been since the start of May.
Pitching continues to dominate
It is a scary thought to think about where this Braves team might be if not for the pitching staff. Charlie Morton bounced back with a good performance in the series opener Friday. Max Fried went toe-to-toe with Paul Skenes Saturday and Spencer Schwellenbach began Sunday’s game with four scoreless innings before things went sideways in the fifth. Fried, Morton, Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez have combined for 2.84 ERA in 60 starts and the Braves are a combined 39-21 in those games.
Entering Sunday, the Braves had allowed just one run in each of their last three-games starting with the 1-0 loss in Chicago. They got just enough offense Saturday to pull out a win in extra innings, but were shut down again by Bailey Falter Sunday. Enough can’t be said about the pitching staff as a whole and it is scary to dream about how good they might have been Spencer Strider not been lost for the season.
June Swoon
The month of June wasn’t the springboard that it has been for the Braves over the last couple of seasons. After going 13-14 in May, Atlanta was 14-13 in June and are 27-27 since a 19-9 start. Atlanta entered the month 6.0 games back of the Phillies and will at least be 7.0 games back pending the outcome of their game Sunday.
It has been a season full of adjustments for Jarred Kelenic but we are starting to see some of that potential that the Braves were looking for when they acquired him from Seattle. Kelenic went hitless in Sunday’s game but hit .304/.356/.543 for the month. Five of his nine homers have come over his last 15 games since moving into the leadoff spot. All nine of his homers have been hit since May 7.
The Braves were hoping that Kelenic would be able to hit at the bottom of the order and simply figure things out. Injuries to Ronald Acuña Jr and Michael Harris along with the underperformance of the lineup has cast him into a much bigger role.
Rare Occurence
A rare instance occurred in Saturday’s game when the Braves scored a run in their first at-bat (leadoff homer) and final trip to the plate (Adam Duvall single). It was the only two runs that they scored in the game. That has happened two other times since the club moved to Atlanta.
The first came in 1966 when Felipe Alou hit a leadoff homer and Eddie Mathews walked it off in the ninth to beat Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers 2-1. It happened again in 1975 against the Phillies where Ralph Garr began the game with a homer and Earl C. Williams walked it off with a single.
Injury Updates
A.J. Minter made another rehab appearance for Gwinnett Sunday tossing a scoreless inning. He’s been on the injured list since May 30 due to inflammation in his hip. He could be activated in time for Tuesday’s series opener against the Giants.
Ian Anderson made a rehab start for Augusta Sunday and allowed one hit and a walk over three scoreless innings. He recorded one strikeout while throwing 46 pitches. His velocity was down from where it was at in his previous rehab outing in North Port. The Braves could get him back at some point after the All-Star break.
