This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
As we near the regular season’s midway point, here are a few random thoughts about the Braves, who have lost 10 of their past 13 games.
1. Before this skid began on June 9, the Braves were on pace for 110 wins and they owned a nine-game lead in the National League East. They are now on pace for 98 wins and they sit 4 1/2 games in front of the second-place Phillies.
When I started constructing that thought, I was trying to make you feel better. I promise.
2. Would you have felt better had the Braves entered Wednesday’s series finale in San Diego having gone 5-7, instead of 3-9 over their previous 12 games? Well, here’s your reminder that Carlos Carrasco, who was designated for assignment by the Braves for the fifth time this year on Wednesday, blew a lead in high-leverage situations in two of those outings, June 9 against the White Sox and Tuesday night at Petco Park.
Why? Well, the Braves opted to give their top relievers some extra rest over the past few weeks. That’s what you need to do during this marathon season. But the reality is you still are prone to what happened on Tuesday, when Carrasco surrendered Fernando Tatis Jr.’s game-tying homer, primarily because Robert Suarez (sore forearm) was one of five relievers who were unavailable.
Losing Suarez would be as crushing to the pitching staff as Ronald Acuña Jr.’s hamstring injuries have been to a slumping offense that was elite just six weeks ago. So, yeah, there’s a need to protect him with the hope the ailment doesn’t become serious.
But why was James Karinchak not used with the one-run lead in the seventh? The pregame decision was to stay away from him because he’d thrown 22 pitches the night before. But he still got up to warm up in the eighth. So, in hindsight, he, not Carrasco, should have been facing Tatis.
3. The Braves addressed their bullpen on Wednesday, when they activated Tyler Kinley from the injured list and selected Ian Hamilton’s contract. One roster spot was opened by optioning JR Ritchie, who needs to harness the command issues that have resulted in a 14 percent walk rate in 40 2/3 big league innings this year.
Having to sit as the Braves saw 54 pitches while batting around in Tuesday’s top of the second presented a challenge for Ritchie. But you still can’t issue consecutive walks after your team has just spotted you a four-run lead. And you certainly can’t allow that lead to turn into a 5-4 deficit by the end of that same inning.
Reynaldo López will move back to the rotation to start what will essentially be a bullpen game on Friday in San Francisco. If he pitches effectively while being limited to approximately 60 pitches, he’ll likely get additional starts. But there’s likely more reason to be excited about what Hurston Waldrep could soon bring to the rotation.
Waldrep threw 4 2/3 innings (71 pitches) for Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday. Once his pitch count is around 90, he would seemingly be in line to gain a rotation spot.
If Waldrep pitches like he did at the end of last year, the Braves will start to feel better about their rotation. But that doesn’t mean they might not still pursue multiple starting pitchers before the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline.
4. Why were the Braves short in the bullpen on Tuesday? Well, it didn’t help that Grant Holmes was pulled with two outs in the fifth inning of Monday’s 1-0 loss to the Padres. This prompted the entry of Didier Fuentes, who needed just four pitches to kill the threat and end the inning. Fuentes had also thrown 28 pitches on Saturday. The team understandably hasn’t reached the point where it’s comfortable with asking the prized 21-year-old hurler to pitch three times in four days.
Just think about how fortunate the Braves were for Bryce Elder to complete six innings after allowing eight runs during what was an unusual second inning against the Brewers on Sunday.
5. Speaking of Elder, he’s like any other sinkerballer in that he’s more effective when his arm is a little fatigued. This is why he has a 2.70 ERA in nine starts on four days' rest, a 3.20 ERA in four starts with five days' rest and a 7.88 ERA in three starts with six or more days' rest.
Elder will be starting with an extra day of rest on Saturday. The Braves are trying to rest their starters as much as they can during this point of the season with the hope they’ll benefit down the stretch. When Elder is getting an extra day of rest, he has the option to further fatigue his arm with a longer side session or by throwing more frequently between starts.