Baseball is a funny game, because if you had told me after the Braves game Friday night that I would be typing an article about chasing down the Phillies in the NL East come Wednesday, I might have suggested you check yourself into a mental facility. But here we are.
Last Friday night, the Braves dropped their sixth straight game and second in a row to the red-hot New York Mets. For the first time in years, Atlanta was in third place in the NL East at this juncture of the season, and everybody’s favorite New York talking head Sal Licata was declaring the NL Wild Card race over.
Saturday provided a glimmer of hope in the form of a Spencer Schwellenbach gem. The rookie mowed through the hottest lineup in baseball without breaking a sweat, striking out 11 over seven scoreless innings. Sunday was more of the same, as the Braves lineup accounted for nine runs in a blowout victory. But unfortunately, the conversation after the game had more to do with Reynaldo Lopez, who exited after just three innings with forearm tightness, than the Braves salvaging a split series in New York.
However, something tells me we could look back in a few months at the final week of July as a turning point for the baseball club in Atlanta, as it has been in the past with the trade deadline. This time, though, the trade deadline is only part of the story.
The biggest news of the week surrounds the Braves injured stars. Reynaldo Lopez avoided anything serious and could be back as early as this week. Max Fried is expected to return around the same time as well. On the position player side, Michael Harris continues to progress well as he aims for a mid-August return, and Alex Anthopoulos even believes Ozzie Albies will be back well before the season ends as well.
On the diamond, the Braves welcomed back Jorge Soler, who was acquired at the trade deadline and joined the Braves Wednesday afternoon. The Braves took two out of three from the NL Central-leading Brewers, behind not only stellar pitching but an offense that is only a couple of more good games from being considered hot.
Matt Olson led the way on Wednesday with two solo shots, as he continues to show signs of heating up. Travis d’Arnaud also added two homers, as the pair went back-to-back twice in the same game. All of a sudden some of the big guns are starting to look like themselves again, even Orlando Arcia has played spectacular baseball in recent weeks, and it won’t take much offense to get this team going behind one of the best pitching staffs in the league.
With that being said, the Braves were dead in the division without a little help from the Phillies, and they’ve gotten it in a big way to start the second half of the season. Philadelphia has only won three games since the All-Star break compared to nine losses, including four in a row.
To make matters worse for the people in the city of brotherly love, the schedule doesn’t lighten up either. After getting swept by the Yankees, the Phillies head out west for three games with the Mariners, followed by three more with the Dodgers, and four in Arizona.
Meanwhile, the Braves schedule in the first half of August is more than manageable. It begins with a critical series against the Marlins, who, after the trade deadline, are a legitimate AAA squad. This is a series at Truist Park that feels like a must-sweep.
If the Braves can take care of the Fish, they then host the Brewers at Truist before going on a road trip to take on the Rockies, Giants, and Angels. Those are three more than beatable teams, and after that, a three-game set at Truist Park awaits between the Braves and Phillies.
The NL East could get very interesting over the next few weeks.
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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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