TAMPA -- The Braves have scored more than one run through nine innings in more than half of their games. Well, barely.
Another frustrating offensive performance was interrupted by the two solo home runs Marcell Ozuna and Ozzie Albies hit in the eighth inning of a 6-3 loss to the Rays on Friday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field. But these solo shots did little to lessen concerns about a Braves offense that has consistently been the team¡¯s weakest link this year.
¡°There¡¯s some positive[s] there right now, but the negatives definitely outweigh it,¡± Braves third baseman Austin Riley said. ¡°We¡¯ve just got to continue to fight it.¡±
There was some hope the Braves would ride the momentum created by the 11-inning win they claimed over the Phillies after sitting through a two-hour, 45-minute rain delay at Truist Park on Thursday. But after tallying a run in the first inning of this series opener, they looked more like a team that arrived at its Tampa-area hotel on Friday around 4:30 a.m. ET.
Those who have followed this team over the first couple of weeks likely weren¡¯t shocked when both Bryan De La Cruz and Jarred Kelenic struck out with the bases loaded to kill a first-inning threat. The Braves have produced MLB¡¯s second-worst OPS (.561) with runners in scoring position. Matt Olson¡¯s one-out first-inning RBI single accounted for their only hit in seven at-bats with RISP on Friday.
Routinely squandering run-producing opportunities is a primary reason the Braves have scored one run or less through nine innings in six of 13 games, including six of their past 11.
And these offensive struggles are the primary reason the Braves are 3-10, their worst record through 13 games since they started 2-11 in 1990. They have lost each of their first eight road games in a season for the first time since 1980, which was the third season of Bobby Cox¡¯s first stint as Atlanta¡¯s manager.
¡°We¡¯re going to break out of this deal and it¡¯s going to be really good for us,¡± Braves starting pitcher Bryce Elder said. ¡°In the past, this game has been very easy for our offense. Those people come in every day and they¡¯re the same people, whether they¡¯re performing good or performing bad. So, I¡¯m not worried about it.¡±
Elder is trying to stabilize a rotation that lost Reynaldo L¨®pez to a right shoulder ailment during the season¡¯s first week. The rotation should improve with the return of Spencer Strider, who could be activated from the injured list to start in Toronto on Tuesday or Wednesday. The bullpen may have improved with the recent acquisition of Rafael Montero, but it¡¯s still a work in progress.
If the Braves' offense had performed up to expectations thus far, they would have covered some of the concerns about their bullpen and rotation. Jurickson Profar¡¯s 80-game suspension for using a performance-enhancing drug has further highlighted the absence of Ronald Acuña Jr., who could return from left knee surgery during the first half of May.
But an offense that includes Ozuna, Riley and Olson shouldn¡¯t rank second-to-last in MLB with 41 runs, with just one more than the Rockies. Ozuna has done his part, constructing a 1.094 OPS thus far. Riley has four straight multihit games and now owns a .732 OPS. But no other qualified Braves player has an OPS of .670 or higher.
¡°This is kind of a carbon copy of what we went through last year,¡± manager Brian Snitker said. ¡°They¡¯ve done it before and they¡¯ll do it again.¡±
Riley, Olson and Ozuna all teamed with Acu?a in 2023, when the Braves possessed one of the best offenses in baseball history. Injuries, especially the one suffered by Acu?a, wrecked last year¡¯s lineup.
But minus Acu?a, the only thing unhealthy about this year¡¯s lineup has been the offensive output.
¡°It¡¯s there,¡± Riley said. ¡°It¡¯s just a matter of time. We¡¯d like it to be sooner rather than later.¡±