Bullpen additions proving strong for Braves

ATLANTA -- Along with lengthening their National League East lead with a 6-3 win over the Blue Jays on Monday afternoon at SunTrust Park, the Braves gained further confidence in their reconstructed bullpen, which has been the National League’s most effective over the past two weeks.

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“Like we said all along, they just needed to find their rhythm,” Braves starting pitcher Mike Soroka said. “The rest is history. They’re doing it day-in and day-out now. We’ve always had the confidence and we always knew they were going to do it.”

It was a rare mediocre outing for Soroka. He gained a 2-0 first inning lead courtesy of Josh Donaldson’s 34th homer and then found himself with a four-run advantage after Bo Bichette bobbled Dansby Swanson’s two-out grounder in the third. All seemed to be going right for the Braves rookie until he surrendered two home runs (solo blasts from Randal Grichuk and Rowdy Tellez) for the first time in his young career.

But after Soroka allowed three runs over five innings, Josh Tomlin, Shane Greene and Mark Melancon combined to work four perfect innings for the Braves, who have won 13 of 15 while the relief corps has produced a NL-best 2.16 bullpen ERA dating back to Aug. 17.

It has been a significant turnaround for the Braves, who acquired Melancon, Greene and Chris Martin before the July 31 Trade Deadline only to see their new bullpen post the NL’s second-worst ERA (7.16) through August’s first 16 days.

“I think this is what everybody kind of envisioned,” Donaldson said. “They’ve been doing a great job for us and they’ve been pretty [darn] efficient at it as well. These guys had a lot of success coming in here. So we felt it would only be a matter of time before they got back to being themselves.”

The bullpen’s success has bolstered Atlanta, which earned a 6 1/2-game division lead after the Nationals lost to the Mets on Monday. These two NL East rivals will begin a four-game series at SunTrust Park on Thursday, and it will be the first time they’ve met since the Braves reconstructed their relief corps.

Here’s a look at how Melancon and Greene have transformed since joining the Braves:

Melancon
Aug. 1-16: 7 G, 6 1/3 IP, 6 ER, 10 H (1 XBH), 8 K, 1 BB
Aug. 17-Sept. 2: 8 G, 7 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 5 H (1 XBH), 10 K, 0 BB

There was certainly reason to anticipate a turnaround from Melancon. During those first seven appearances, he surrendered a .526 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) and per Statcast, there was a 0.52 difference between his expected batting average (.318) and batting average allowed (.370). But the 34-year-old reliever has been even better than expected. He has produced a 37 percent strikeout rate while limiting opponents to a .185 on-base percentage over his past eight appearances.

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Greene
Aug. 1-16: 7 G, 5 1/3 IP, 7 ER, 13 H (2 HR), 5 K, 2 BB
Aug. 17-Sept. 2: 10 G, 10 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 10 K, 1 BB

Greene was also seemingly burdened with some tough luck, allowing a .579 BABIP average through his first seven appearances with the Braves. He lost the closer’s role to Melancon during this stretch, in which both his slugging percentage allowed (.769) expected slugging percentage allowed (.515) were alarming. But the veteran right-hander has settled in as the primary setup option, retiring 32 of 37 batters during his current 11-inning scoreless streak.

“I didn’t know those guys and what they are capable of, but it’s been pretty good right now,” manager Brian Snitker said.

There is room for improvement within the middle relief options. Luke Jackson has allowed a run in each of his past three appearances, and Martin has allowed a run in two of his past three outings. But there’s now reliable depth within this relief corps, which for the first time this season seems to be an asset as opposed to a liability.

“When you get the lead late, those are the games you expect to win and you have to win,” Braves catcher Brian McCann said. “Those guys came in and solidified that. They’re executing their pitches on a nightly basis.”