Braves 'a group of pros' amid adversity

MIAMI -- Ronald Acuña Jr.’s bat was certainly missed in Sunday’s 7-4 loss to the Marlins at loanDepot park. The Braves lost their All-Star right fielder for the season on Saturday to a torn ACL.

Their record slipped to 44-45 in the final game before the All-Star break. It’s the first time since 2017, manager Brian Snitker’s first year in Atlanta, that the Braves take a losing record into the break.

But the Braves skipper remained proud of his team’s efforts in the first half, despite all of the adversity, and continues to be optimistic for a second-half surge.

“Challenging,” Snitker said in describing the first half of the season. “It’s been an unbelievable grind. And for all that said, we’re [still] right there. We start [again] next Friday, and we’re a winning streak away from pushing the envelope for first [place].

“I’m proud of the guys. It hasn’t been easy with everything that we’ve been through, the gut-punches we’ve withstood, the players that we’ve had to use -- it hasn’t been easy. Most seasons aren’t. This thing is never easy. It never goes smooth. It’s six months of [grinding] every year, even when you’re going good.”

Snitker added that he is thankful for having a team with such resiliency.

“I applaud them and admire each and every one of them for the consistency in [their] work, the consistency in the emotion, the level of play. It’s a group of pros in there.”

The Braves struggled to answer back after Jesús Aguilar belted a three-run homer in the first inning to give the Marlins a 3-0 lead. Aguilar lined an 88.2 mph changeup from Braves starter Ian Anderson over the left-field fence at an exit velocity of 103.3 mph.

Anderson worked just 2 1/3 innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits and issuing five walks. Snitker expressed some concern about his shoulder.

“We’re going to have him looked at, probably Tuesday,” Snitker said. “There may be something going on. It could be the IL for a while, just to get him an extended [break].”

But Snitker added that it could simply be fatigue: “It’s his first time through all this. The stress of the Major League season and everything. Hopefully, it’s nothing bad.”

Anderson said he felt tightness in his shoulder. “It feels like just inflammation,” he said. “We’ll get it checked out and see what they say.”

The Braves had a difficult time figuring out Marlins starter Pablo López, who set a Modern Era (since 1900) Major League record with nine consecutive strikeouts to start the game. López threw just one pitch in his previous outing against Atlanta, before he was ejected for hitting Acuña with a pitch.

Dansby Swanson provided some much-needed offense with a pair of solo home runs.

“Those were two loud balls he hit today,” Snitker said. “He’s been through as many offensive struggles as anybody, but he keeps hanging in there and taking a professional approach. I admire the hell out of that kid.”

Back in 2017, the Braves found themselves in a similar situation as today. The only difference is instead of three games in Miami, it was a four-game series in Washington that the Braves needed to sweep to avoid a losing record at the break.

They didn’t accomplish it that year, either. In fact, the Braves never reached the .500 level at any point in that season. After closing in on the mark at 47-48, the Braves faltered the rest of the way and limped to the finish line with a 72-90 record.

Atlanta has not had a winning record at any point this season either, and the Braves are one of only three teams that have yet to reach a winning record. Miami and Texas are the others.

Since moving to Atlanta in 1966, the club has had a losing record at the break 25 times, including a franchise-worst 31-58 record in 2016. Conversely, the club's best mark at the All-Star break came in 1998, when they went 59-29 in the first half.