THE DIFFERING PATHS OF THE DODGERS AND BRAVES
At the start of the season and following a similar path for a few years now, the Dodgers and Braves came in as the undisputed class of the National League. For the first time in 2024 these two organizations and both fulfilling their respective expectations by leading their respective divisions. Atlanta has the best record in the NL, while the Dodgers are fourth-best.
However, while they may be at virtually the same place, the path which each of these teams have taken to get here could not be any more different and that’s something to address as they get ready to meet.
Here are a few statements about the Braves in 2024:
- Spencer Strider is out for the year after elbow surgery
- Sean Murphy has played in but a single game, still out with an oblique strain
- Matt Olson, Austin Riley, and Ronald Acuña Jr. all have a thing in common, a sub-.400 slugging percentage
- The Braves still have a 20-9 record
Here you have a team without its top starter, and arguably the best one in all of baseball. That same team has its top three hitters not only producing well below their career average but also below the league average.
Still, Atlanta currently has the fourth-best offense in the National League, scoring 5.41 runs per game. How are the Braves doing this, one might ask, and it speaks to their depth.
Not many teams can have a trio that powerful struggling and still be able to rely on quite the core. One that includes a perennial All-Star bat in Ozzie Albies, young outfielder Michael Harris II (Rookie of the Year in 2022), and the NL’s top slugger at the moment in Marcell Ozuna (.624 SLG).
There is a reason why this team was the highest-scoring club in baseball last year, and if you needed more evidence of that, this first month-plus of the 2024 season is just that.
For anyone ever, it’d be tough to live up to the numbers that Acuña and Olson had in 2023, but they’re probably fine, one just hopes they won’t wake up in the bright lights of this series. Remember Acunã Jr. versus Mookie Betts late last year?
On the pitching side of things, do not be fooled by Max Fried’s 4.02 ERA. The southpaw was totally off for his first two starts, but is back on track and coming off two gems. Chris Sale and Charlie Morton are holding steady as reliable vets, and Reynaldo López has transitioned well into a starter’s role.
The Dodgers and their second-best offense in the NL have gotten to that point with an entirely different path, one that sees the superstars somehow exceeding expectations, which is the case for Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani. Even Freddie Freeman, who’s been up and down, still has a fine 139 OPS+.
On the opposite end, several complementary pieces for the Dodgers haven’t done much this season. Jason Heyward is out indefinitely, Kiké Hernández, Chris Taylor, Gavin Lux, and James Outman are all hitting at a level that isn’t just disappointing, but actively quite hurtful for the lineup. Sure, the Dodgers also have their pleasant surprises in the likes of Andy Pages and Miguel Rojas, but they’re in the minority.
This assessment opens up room for questions surrounding this three-game series in Chavez Ravine.
Will the Braves’ superstars heat up with the baseball world watching? Will the Dodgers' complementary pieces show up, like Kiké Hernández and Lux did on the 7-2 road trip? Could the lack of production from their best hitters finally start to hurt Atlanta? Might the bottom-of-the-order woes hurt the Dodgers once again?
All things to watch this weekend at Dodger Stadium.
2024-05-03T17:37:19Z dg43tfdfdgfd