PHOENIX — Braves manager Brian Snitker and several of his players have said at times in recent weeks something along the lines of, “It doesn’t feel like we’re running at full speed yet.”
With three days before the All-Star break, it seems timely to ask ourselves what it will take to finally put this team on a sustained run of success.
“I don’t know,” Braves first baseman Matt Olson said. “It’s a good question. I don’t have an answer to it.”
The answer was not to be found, as the Braves were unable to overcome the one run Max Fried gave up in a 1-0 loss to the D-backs on Thursday night at Chase Field. Olson came within a few feet of a tying home run in the ninth and Sean Murphy was robbed of an extra-base hit in the eighth.
But close isn’t enough, especially if the Braves wanted to end the first half of the season on a roll. They won two of three games against the Phillies last weekend, then won the first two games of this four-game set. But the momentum fizzled out with back-to-back losses to the D-backs.
“We wanted to win the series, but we just couldn’t do it,” Snitker said.
Three months after their only winning streak of at least five games this year, the Braves are running out of steam. They entered Thursday with five or more runs in each of their last six games. But Brandon Pfaddt limited them to three hits in six scoreless innings.
As a result, Fried had to dwell on the 3-2 changeup that Eugenio Suárez hit over the center field wall to start the bottom of the fifth inning. Suárez hit a home run off Charlie Morton’s curveball on Wednesday. If Fried had been able to get that pitch back, he might not have gone offspeed.
“That’s the best I’ve felt in a while with mechanics, timing, everything,” Fried said. “Knowing you make a mistake and give up a home run, that was a stretch with the way I was feeling and the things I had, it could have been a scoreless game.”
Fried might not have dwelt on that one pitch if he had gotten some offensive assistance. Olson’s long drive in the ninth inning was caught at the wall by leaping left fielder Jake McCarthy. According to Statcast, it would have been a home run in 15 of the major leagues’ 30 parks.
“Honestly, that should have gone further than it needed to,” Olson said. “I didn’t hit him right.”
McCarthy was playing center when he robbed Murphy of an one-out double in the eighth inning.
But the Braves had only themselves to blame when Olson, Marcell Ozuna and Adam Duvall were eliminated after Austin Riley led off the seventh inning with a double.
How can the Braves get off to an offensive start?
1. Get Olson on the right track
Olson is one of the key cogs that just hasn’t gotten going this year. His attempt to build on last year’s MVP-caliber season has been fraught with frustration. He’s hitting .234 with 13 homers and a .728 OPS. He produced a 1.063 OPS over 20 games from May 26 to June 16. But he’s hit .153 with a .470 OPS in the 23 games since.
The veteran first baseman could benefit as much mentally and physically from the All-Star break as any Braves player.
2. Hit Riley second, especially against right-handed starters
Ozzie Albies has hit .221 this year with a .640 OPS from the left side. The switch-hitting second baseman just doesn’t seem like a viable option at second against right-handed pitching. Instead, the Braves could take a chance on Austin Riley and Ozuna back-to-back in the lineup. Riley has a 1.195 OPS over his last 26 games and Ozuna has a .942 OPS this season, seventh-best in the MLB (min. 300 plate appearances).
Albies has an .891 OPS from the right side. But it’s also hard to pass up the opportunity to play both Ozuna and Riley in the first inning against a left-handed pitcher. So if you’re facing a left-handed starter, it might make sense to put Albies in the leadoff position and follow him with Riley and Ozuna. That would force Jarred Kelenic into the lineup batting during those games.
3. Make a trade
Michael Harris II has been sidelined since June 14 with a hamstring injury. He has been running this past week and could soon begin a minor league rehab assignment. His return after the All-Star break would help lengthen the lineup. But the key to getting this offense going could depend on whether the team can add another big hitter to the mix before the July 30 trade deadline.