Three reasons to feel good about Braves' near-record start

SAN DIEGO -- Three weeks into the regular season, the Braves are where they want to be. In fact, they nearly found themselves where they had never been before.

The Braves’ bid to begin a season 15-4 for the first time in modern franchise history was erased on Wednesday afternoon, when an eight-game winning streak was snapped with a 1-0 loss to the Padres at Petco Park. But the reigning National League East champs are feeling pretty good about where they’re heading after this 14-5 start.

“The guys in here are great,” Braves veteran starter Charlie Morton said. “It’s nice to go to the park every day with this group and look forward to watching them compete."

Morton capped this six-game road trip with an effective six-inning effort, marred only by Juan Soto’s fourth-inning leadoff home run. Sam Hilliard provided assistance by tallying a pair of hits and robbing Manny Machado of a home run in the sixth. But the Braves extended some of their early-season clutch hitting woes, by squandering Ronald Acuña Jr.’s first-inning leadoff single and a third-inning bases-loaded threat.

There’s nothing wrong with the 5.10 runs per game the Braves have tallied this year. But they’ve left a few ducks on the pond while hitting .136 (3-for-22) with the bases loaded. This includes Wednesday’s wasted opportunity, when Matt Olson popped out and Austin Riley struck out after an Acuña walk loaded the bases with one out in the third.

“The first few (weeks) it hasn’t gone our way,” Riley said. “Whether that is putting a little pressure on ourselves or whatever, down the stretch I expect to get the job done.”

Down the stretch is a long way away. But here are three reasons the Braves should feel good about what they’ve done and where they are heading:

The rotation is whole
Kyle Wright began the season on the injured list, and Max Fried suffered a hamstring strain during the third inning of his Opening Day start. Suddenly, the Braves were down MLB’s only 20-game winner from the 2022 season (Wright) and last year’s NL Cy Young Award runner-up (Fried).

But thanks to the three great starts Triple-A Gwinnett’s Opening Day starter Bryce Elder has made since being promoted, the Braves persevered with a fractured rotation. Life could get even better now that Fried and Wright have both been activated within the past week.

The Braves have posted a 2.12 ERA over the past five games. Along with the recent returns of Wright and Fried, the club can be encouraged about the progress of Michael Soroka, who has remained healthy while posting a 1.32 ERA through three starts for Triple-A Gwinnett.

Injured list is getting shorter
The Braves are 14-5 for just the sixth time since 1901 and the first time since 2013. This is remarkable when you consider Fried, Wright, All-Star catcher Travis d'Arnaud (concussion), reigning NL Rookie of the Year Michael Harris II (sore back), closer Raisel Iglesias (sore shoulder) and veteran reliever Collin McHugh (sore shoulder) have all been on the injured list.

Harris returned to Atlanta after being with the team during the Kansas City portion of this six-game road trip. So, he hasn’t progressed as quickly as expected. But McHugh could return this weekend and Iglesias started throwing side sessions this week.

“We’re going to get guys back, especially in the bullpen,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “That’s going to help us, but we’re doing a great job right now.”

Dylan Lee and Jesse Chavez have both provided 10 scoreless appearances. Nick Anderson is healthy, and A.J. Minter is again proving he can handle the closing role when necessary. This bullpen should get even stronger once Iglesias and McHugh return.

MVP production
Acuña ranked second among all MLB players with a 1.2 fWAR entering Wednesday. Olson and Sean Murphy were tied for third with a 1.1 fWAR. As for Austin Riley, he ranked fifth in the Majors with the 139 wRC+ (Weighted Runs Created Plus) he produced from the start of 2021 through the end of 2022.

Acuña, Olson and Riley may prove to be MLB’s most dangerous trio this year, and if Murphy continues to produce in the cleanup spot, the production from those first three hitters will be even more valuable. On the flip side, a healthy Acuña also enhances the value Olson, Riley and Murphy can provide.

Acuña has gone 11-for-18 with three doubles, a home run and three stolen bases in the first inning. The only other MLB player with a double-digit hit total in the opening frame so far is Riley, who has gone 10-for-17 with an MLB-leading four homers in the first inning.

“I like where we’re at,” Snitker said. “You can always get better. I don’t think you’re ever satisfied.”