Braves know tide will turn: 'You've just got to keep fighting'

ATLANTA -- Within a span of three days, the Braves were reminded why it’s never wise to get too high or too low, especially within the regular season’s first 10 games.

The Braves weren’t going to sustain the .857 winning percentage they owned after claiming a thrilling comeback win in their home opener on Thursday. Nor will they be doomed by the fact they have since suffered three straight losses, including a 10-2 setback against the Padres on Sunday Night Baseball at Truist Park.

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“It’s not going to be easy, and it’s never going to go as planned,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “You’re going good and then all of the sudden a couple games happen, and you’ve just got to keep fighting and know it can happen in reverse, too.”

Losing three straight games against a mighty Padres squad is certainly not cause for concern. Nor is the Braves’ 6-4 record, especially when you consider they have enough players on the injured list to fill a lineup stuffed with talent.

Some of the Braves’ wounded players include ace Max Fried, 20-game winner Kyle Wright, reigning National League Rookie of the Year Michael Harris II, All-Star catcher Travis d’Arnaud and two top relievers, Collin McHugh and Raisel Iglesias.

The good news is the Braves have a winning record, despite top prospect Jared Shuster and fellow rookie Dylan Dodd combining to start four of the team’s first 10 games. The better news is that with Wright likely to come off the IL on Tuesday and Fried maybe a week later, the Braves’ rotation could soon be back at full strength.

Shuster is considered the Braves’ top prospect by MLB Pipeline, but he certainly didn’t look ready as the lefty experienced an ugly first inning in both of the starts he’s made thus far in his young career. As for Dodd, he showed an effective slider while limiting the Cardinals to one run over six innings in his MLB debut on Tuesday.

But that slider was essentially non-existent on Sunday as the Padres tagged him for seven runs and 10 hits, including two home runs, over just 4 1/3 innings. His four-seam fastball averaged 92.2 mph in St. Louis, but just 90.9 mph against San Diego.

“It’s not going to be easy, they’re learning on the job,” Snitker said of Dodd and Shuster. “It’s tough sledding in this league.”

Shuster was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett after Friday’s start and the Braves must now decide what to do with Dodd. Wright will likely be activated Tuesday to fill Shuster’s spot. Thursday’s off-day gives the Braves the option to skip Dodd until April 18. Fried would be eligible to be activated at that point. So, if his hamstring allows, there’s at least a chance he could fill Dodd’s rotation spot on that date.

“I think I’ve proven myself,” Dodd said. “I think I belong here. But at the same time, I think there’s still a bunch of areas of the game where I can improve.”

With just one full professional season under his belt, Dodd could benefit from some additional time at the Minor League level. But the stuff he showed during Spring Training and in his debut should give him the confidence he could eventually be ready to taste sustained success at the big league level.

This weekend’s struggles extended beyond Dodd and Shuster. Atlanta’s powerful offense was subdued -- or maybe more aptly, frustrated.

The Braves stranded 10 runners in Friday’s 5-4 loss and then struck out 10 times against Michael Wacha, who, before Saturday, hadn’t had a double-digit strikeout total since 2015. Atlanta ended the weekend by going 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position in the series finale.

“You’re going to go through those ruts,” Snitker said. “We had a pretty good first week and now it’s just baseball. You’re going to have to fight through it, like we do all year. That’s what we do for six months.”