Paul Maholm has been lights out to start the season for Atlanta. (Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports)
We are only three weeks into the baseball season, but boy have the Atlanta Braves been impressive.
After a weekend sweep of Washington in the nation’s capital enabled the team to capture its ninth straight win, the Braves moved to a Major League-best 11-1 on the young season — and they currently sit in first place in the National League East.
And while two significant factors behind Atlanta’s fast start have been its pitching and defense, the newly acquired Upton brothers, Justin (.348 avg., 7 home runs and 11 RBI) and B.J., along with third/first baseman Chris Johnson (.405, a homer, four RBI) — who went somewhat unnoticed by Braves fans in the Justin Upton deal — and rookie hitting machine Evan Gattis (.324, four home runs, 10 RBI) have ignited an Atlanta lineup that’s putting up solid numbers without Jason Heyward hitting (.103) and with first baseman Freddie Freeman on the DL and catcher Brian McCann (also on DL) not having played a game. And quite frankly, that’s a scary thought for the teams in the NL East, as the Nationals found out over the weekend.
“It was good to make a statement early,” Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons told the team’s website. “Let them know we’re going to be tough to beat. That was a great win for us.”
As of Monday, the Braves pitching staff leads the majors with an 11-1 record and a 1.82 ERA. The group has notched 77 strikeouts in 109.0 innings pitched and has racked up six saves. Combine that kind of pitching with a lineup that has scored 62 runs and ranks second only to the Colorado Rockies (21) in home runs (20) and the Braves are a team that can do a lot of damage to opponents in a variety of ways.
“We’ve got all of this power and this balanced lineup and all of this offense,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “But it’s going to be about the pitching at that end of the year.”
Although Tim Hudson is considered to be the team’s ace, lefties Mike Minor and Paul Maholm have been brilliant to begin the year. Minor is 2-0 with 11 strikeouts and a 0.69 ERA, and Maholm, who leads the staff with a 3-0 record, has yet to allow a run in 20.1 innings pitched. The two southpaws give the Braves good balance in the rotation considering Hudson, Kris Medlen and youngster Julio Teheran are all right-handed.
“Pauly has been outstanding, unbelievable,” B.J. Upton said.
In addition to getting quality efforts from its starting staff, Atlanta is also receiving plenty of good work from a dynamic bullpen that features closer Craig Kimbrel, who already has six saves on the season.
The Braves’ pen has compiled a major-league best 1.30 ERA and has not allowed any of its inherited runners to score so far during the first month of play. If that trend continues, with Atlanta’s starting pitching and its ability to score runs in bunches, the Braves might be the team that runs away with the NL East and not the Nationals.
And yes, there is still a long way to go. But right now Gonzalez’s Braves look like a powerful force in a National League that has claimed the last three world titles.
