'There’s going to be frustration': Braves GM talks team's tough stretch

BALTIMORE -- Instead of having manager Brian Snitker answer questions once again about the Braves’ struggles over the past six weeks, president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos took his turn.

“There’s going to be frustration,” Anthopoulos said. “It’s tough. No one has fun if they are losing. But overall, are we still in a good place? Are the coaches and players in a good place? [The vibe] is still as good as it can be, all things considered. There’s no doubt it’s gone on for a while.”

Anthopoulos’ comments were made a few hours before the Braves suffered a wrenching 4-2 loss to the Orioles on Wednesday night at Camden Yards. Matt Olson provided a game-tying homer in the top of the eighth, but Joe Jiménez surrendered his first homer of the year in the bottom half.

Jiménez allowed a game-winning homer to Colton Cowser, who entered the game in the eighth inning as a defensive replacement for right fielder Ryan O’Hearn. That’s just how things have gone during a five-game losing streak that has extended the Braves’ worst stretch in seven years.

“We’ve had to fight through adversity even in the 100-win seasons,” Snitker said. “You go through stretches where it just doesn’t go your way. That’s just the way this game is. Nobody likes it. Nobody is happy about it. But what are you going to do? You come back the next day and you keep fighting.”

The Braves have lost 23 of their past 39 games and 17 of their past 26. These are their worst 39-game and 26-game stretches since Sept. 2017, which was a few months before Anthopoulos was lured to Atlanta to fill his current role.

Anthopoulos and Snitker have teamed up to guide the Braves to six straight division titles and one World Series trophy. This team seemed capable of producing a third straight 100-win season before both Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider suffered season-ending injuries. But even without these two stars, it was hard to foresee the team struggling like this, especially from an offensive standpoint.

“We’d love to have it turn around immediately,” Anthopoulos said. “Everyone is obviously trying -- the players, the coaches -- and from my standpoint, I’m doing what I can. But we haven’t gotten it done yet. That’s just the reality of it. It’s obviously been going on for a while. But the saving grace, if you want to put it that way, is the National League hasn’t run away from us.”

Even in their worst stretch in seven years, the Braves sit atop the NL Wild Card standings. There’s plenty of time to turn things around, and the team hasn’t buried itself. But there’s also enough time for the latter to happen if it doesn’t turn things around.

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The Cubs (.385) and Mets (.368) were the only two teams that entered Wednesday with a worse winning percentage than the Braves (.421) going back to April 29, the start of the current 39-game skid. The Cubs (.333) are the only team with a worse winning percentage than the Braves (.360) going back to May 15, the start of Atlanta’s current 26-game skid.

“You don’t like going through it, but you have to,” Snitker said. “If you’re going to turn things around, you better handle it.”

Anthopoulos’ trip to Baltimore validated his belief that the coaches and players have kept the right attitude during this rough stretch. It’s hard to guess how one of the greatest offenses of all time could struggle like it has during a span that began before Acuña’s injury. It’s also not therapeutic to continue pointing out that the hard-hit and barrel rates indicate this offense has been the victim of some bad luck.

With a core of Acuña, Austin Riley, Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Sean Murphy and Michael Harris II, the Braves essentially know what their lineup will look like for the next few years. There may be a need to add an outfielder or starting pitcher before the July 30 Trade Deadline. But even without Acuña, this is a lineup more than capable of supporting what has been a very strong pitching staff thus far.

“This is a young group of accomplished players,” Anthopoulos said. “It would be one thing if you were looking at this as a team with an aging core or one filled with diminishing talent. It’s not that at all. It’s a team that’s not performing to expectations. But there’s still tremendous upside.”