Braves feeling 'a lot of life' after big homestand

ATLANTA -- Though it didn’t include one last comeback win, this homestand proved to be a very productive and encouraging one for the Braves.

Matt Olson’s monstrous first-inning home run wasn’t enough to overcome the sixth-inning struggles Bryce Elder experienced in a 6-2 loss to the Nationals on Sunday afternoon at Truist Park. The setback snapped Atlanta’s MLB-best seven-game winning streak and ended a 5-1 homestand.

There was plenty of reason for the Braves to be encouraged with what transpired during a winning streak that began on June 3 in Arizona. The Braves entered that day tied for the National League’s second-worst record going back to May 10. A little more than a week later, they stand as one of only two NL teams with at least 40 wins.

“We were struggling there for a while, not hitting on all cylinders,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It happens. It will happen again before this thing's over. But when you hang in there, you give yourself a chance to come back and do what we just did, which was really good. We had a lot of energy and a lot of life.”

The Braves began their winning streak with consecutive wins in Arizona. They won the finale of the D-backs series with Eddie Rosario’s trend-setting, grand slam with two outs in the ninth. This led to three consecutive comeback wins during a three-game sweep of the Mets.

How impressive was the sweep? Well, it marked the first time in modern history any Braves team erased a three-run deficit in three straight wins. The late-inning heroics helped Atlanta strengthen its spot atop the NL East standings.

The Braves are 3 1/2 games ahead of the Marlins, eight games in front of the Phillies and 9 1/2 games ahead of the Mets, who were just 3 1/2 back before Atlanta began its winning streak.

“Obviously, that Mets series was awesome and taking two of three from Washington was great,” Braves third baseman Austin Riley said. “These are big league clubs. So any time you can take a series, it’s a positive.”

Elder entered this homestand with MLB’s best ERA (1.92). He surrendered a pair of two-run homers in the third inning of Tuesday’s win over the Mets and then shut them down over his final three frames. He limited the Nationals to one run through the first five innings of Sunday’s game and then allowed three straight hits in the sixth, including Jeimer Candelario’s home run.

Even with Elder’s ERA jumping from 1.92 to 2.69 over these past two starts, he’s certainly done more than anyone was expecting when he began the year as Triple-A Gwinnett’s Opening Day starter. The results of this homestand didn’t necessarily weaken the argument that he has been as valuable as any Braves player this year.

Elder has pitched into the sixth inning of 12 of his 13 starts and he has completed 77 innings going back to his April 5 season debut for Atlanta. Spencer Strider ranks second among Braves pitchers with 67 2/3 innings thrown since that date.

Accounting for the fact the Braves have spent most of the season without Max Fried and Kyle Wright in their rotation, it’s hard to argue against Elder being one of the team’s most valuable players.

“We got down today and I thought, 'We’ll come back and somebody will pop one and we’ll be right back there again,'” Snitker said.

One more comeback wasn’t in the books, but the Braves exited this homestand feeling better about:

Michael Harris II: Though he went 1-for-4 on Sunday, he had two 100+ mph lineouts, including one that Alex Call grabbed at the top of the center-field wall. But the reigning NL Rookie of the Year seemed to turn his season around while going 7-for-19 with two doubles and a homer over the final five games of this homestand.

Joe Jiménez: It looks like the veteran reliever is finally regaining all of his strength after undergoing offseason back surgery. He posted a 4.42 ERA over 20 appearances through the end of May. But after a week of rest, he worked a combined three scoreless and hitless innings over two appearances during this homestand. His resurgence, combined with A.J. Minter’s, has significantly strengthened the bullpen.

Orlando Arcia and Marcell Ozuna: Maybe it was known before this past week, but there still doesn’t seem to be anything fluky about the success both of these veterans have had over the past month. Arcia posted a team-best 1.136 OPS during this homestand and Ozuna ranked second with a 1.027 OPS.