Braves wrap up brutal stretch, reinforcements now imminent

The Braves wrapped up a brutal stretch of 17 games in 17 days on Sunday afternoon with a clobbering of the Boston Red Sox. The win not only resulted in a series victory, it also put Atlanta back over the .500 mark for just the second time this season.

Despite going without an off-day for over two weeks, the Braves were able to manage a 10-7 record, mostly due to a starting staff that has been performing like the best in all of baseball. As a group — Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach, Bryce Elder, AJ Smith-Shawver, and Grant Holmes — pitched to the tune of a 2.70 ERA in May, and they are about to get a big boost in the form of Spencer Strider.

TBA is currently listed as the Braves starter on Tuesday. With Dylan Dodd being optioned following yesterday’s game, the writing is on the wall for Strider to make his second start of the season, and he’s not the only familiar face the team could welcome back this week.

Ronald Acuña Jr. got the day off on Sunday after playing in three straight games for the Stripers. He still has yet to play a full nine innings in the field, which Brian Snitker said he will need to do before being activated. However, that could happen over the next few days. A Friday return at Truist Park for a weekend set against the Padres feels very plausible.

Additionally, this could finally be the week the Braves turn to Craig Kimbrel. His fastball is sitting in the mid-90s, and he’s been dominant on the farm, boasting a 1.38 ERA and 10.4 K/9 over 13.2 innings between AA-AAA. Like the rotation, the Braves bullpen was mostly good over this recent 17-day stretch, but there a few weak links that Kimbrel could certainly provide an upgrade over.