ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Drake Baldwin’s two-run home run in the sixth inning of Friday’s 3-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles was the lone offensive highlight for an Atlanta Braves team that has lost six of their last eight games and are now in fourth place in the NL East.
The team has been struggling. There’s not much arguing there. But amid the wasted pitching performances and a slumping offense, Baldwin and fellow catcher Sean Murphy have been a rare silver lining.
“We’ve got an All-Star catcher out of what those two guys are doing,” manager Brian Snitker said. “They’re kind of sharing the duties and have been very productive.”
Baldwin and Murphy have combined to homer five times in Atlanta’s last nine games. And that’s all well and good, but the last run the Braves (39-48) scored that wasn’t on a home run was Nick Allen’s RBI-single during the team’s 6-1 win against the Philadelphia Phillies on June 28.
Right-hander Spencer Strider allowed three earned runs on seven hits and a walk across six innings against Baltimore (38-49) on Friday. The 26-year-old is looking more like his old self lately, touching 98mph and averaging 96.1mph on his fastball throughout Friday’s loss.
But that doesn’t change the fact that the offense can’t muster up runs to help make use of these exceptional pitching performances.
Strider won’t blame anyone other than himself when Atlanta loses games he starts. But he made a great point, noting that “good teams win games multiple ways.”
“Whenever I’ve been on a team that just bangs offensively, I’ve never gone out there like, ‘Well, I know I can just suck today,’” Strider said. “You never know, whether the offense is clicking or not, what it’s going to take to win the game.
Designated hitter Marcell Ozuna is just the latest example of a struggling Braves bat looking for some sort of spark, slashing .177/.269/.265 with just two home runs over his last 30 games.
He’s been dealing with a lingering hip injury, and that’s something Ozuna will likely deal with for the rest of the season. But one has to wonder whether Ozuna will be subbed for either Baldwin or Murphy at the DH spot in the near future, even if it’s for a few games.
“We haven’t (thought of it) yet because I kind of feel like it’s not him,” Snitker said of possibly benching Ozuna. “He’s been an elite player here for so long … It’s hard to put it on one guy. It’s not just one guy here right now. It’s a combination of an entire offense.
“They’re all capable of getting it going at any point in time.”
Atlanta is currently 11.5 games back in the NL East and wraps up its series against Baltimore on Sunday. Since right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach was placed on the injured list with a fractured right elbow, the Braves will go with a bullpen game Saturday against the Orioles.
Southpaw Aaron Bummer will get the start.
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