<img alt="Washington Nationals v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/E8vo8_JAPA_itvYdz06MNyts9io=/0x0:5916x3944/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73556062/2168264020.0.jpg">
Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images
They're going hard on the mound at a historic level in recent days. Hopefully it continues! Earlier today, our very own DJourn shared a QuickPost that was passing on a stat that everybody’s favorite stat nerd Sarah Langs shared over on X Twitter. I think we all have noticed that Atlanta’s starting pitching has been on a roll lately — granted, they’ve been great all year but they’ve seemingly hit another level in recent days.
Braves starting pitchers have allowed 3 runs or fewer in 19 straight gamesthat's their longest single-season streak since the mound was moved to its current distance in 1893h/t @EliasSports— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 31, 2024
That, uh, that’s really good. It might also be yet another sign of how tough the sledding has been for hitters all across the board but also, it can’t be a huge surprise that this crew has been so tough to deal with in recent times. Chris Sale has been the best starting pitcher in baseball this season (and according to fWAR, he’s been the best by a country mile), Reynaldo López has thrived with the Braves in his second chance as a starting pitcher, Max Fried on a good day is as good as any pitcher that you can think of, the wily veteran Charlie Morton has been gritting his way through these starts lately and Spencer Schwellenbach has been an absolute revelation this season.
This is even more impressive considering that Spencer Strider has pitched a grand total of nine innings this season. It's even more impressive when you consider that this somehow never happened during the golden era of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. It becomes supremely impressive when they had to go all the way back to the days of "[Warren] Spahn, [Johnny] Sain, and pray for rain.” While those other old Boston Braves starters clearly deserved a bit more credit than what they got thanks to that old poem, it's still ridiculous that this 2024 Braves rotation has managed to do something that no other rotation in this franchise's long and illustrious history hasn't managed to do.
#Braves starters have now gone 19 consecutive starts allowing three runs or fewer, a new franchise record. Entering play tonight, the 2024 club was tied with the 1949 Boston Braves who went 18 straight, a rotation that featured Spahn & Sain— Kevin McAlpin (@KevinMcAlpin) August 31, 2024
The Braves have gone 13-6 over these 19 starts, which has been a huge reason why this team has returned to the lofty heights of being 13 games over .500 and also why they've been able to consolidate their position in the Postseason. Back on August 11 when this streak started, the Braves were teetering on the brink and only had a 62 percent shot at making the Postseason — not an absolute nightmare scenario but certainly close to it!
After these 19 starts and going 13-6 over that span, the Braves have increased their Postseason odds to 88 percent and are holding on to a three-game lead for the third and final Wild Card spot and have also gotten within two games of both the Padres and the Diamondbacks in the standings. They still need to remain on their toes and not get complacent but if this does keep up, then the Braves could have a very decent shot at returning to their spot at the top of the Wild Card standings.
While a lot of credit has to go to the offense for finally starting to come alive on a consistent basis recently, a ton of credit needs to go to this starting pitching rotation as well. Things are really starting to come together for the Braves right now, which is a good sign if they can get into the tournament. I've said it a bunch of times but if they can keep up this level of pitching then they'll be a very dangerous team to deal with come October. Pitching can carry you to a championship and it's definitely helping right now to carry the Braves to success as we enter the final month of the season.
<img alt="Washington Nationals v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/E8vo8_JAPA_itvYdz06MNyts9io=/0x0:5916x3944/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73556062/2168264020.0.jpg">
Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images
They're going hard on the mound at a historic level in recent days. Hopefully it continues! Earlier today, our very own DJourn shared a QuickPost that was passing on a stat that everybody’s favorite stat nerd Sarah Langs shared over on X Twitter. I think we all have noticed that Atlanta’s starting pitching has been on a roll lately — granted, they’ve been great all year but they’ve seemingly hit another level in recent days.
Braves starting pitchers have allowed 3 runs or fewer in 19 straight gamesthat's their longest single-season streak since the mound was moved to its current distance in 1893h/t @EliasSports— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 31, 2024
That, uh, that’s really good. It might also be yet another sign of how tough the sledding has been for hitters all across the board but also, it can’t be a huge surprise that this crew has been so tough to deal with in recent times. Chris Sale has been the best starting pitcher in baseball this season (and according to fWAR, he’s been the best by a country mile), Reynaldo López has thrived with the Braves in his second chance as a starting pitcher, Max Fried on a good day is as good as any pitcher that you can think of, the wily veteran Charlie Morton has been gritting his way through these starts lately and Spencer Schwellenbach has been an absolute revelation this season.
This is even more impressive considering that Spencer Strider has pitched a grand total of nine innings this season. It's even more impressive when you consider that this somehow never happened during the golden era of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. It becomes supremely impressive when they had to go all the way back to the days of "[Warren] Spahn, [Johnny] Sain, and pray for rain.” While those other old Boston Braves starters clearly deserved a bit more credit than what they got thanks to that old poem, it's still ridiculous that this 2024 Braves rotation has managed to do something that no other rotation in this franchise's long and illustrious history hasn't managed to do.
#Braves starters have now gone 19 consecutive starts allowing three runs or fewer, a new franchise record. Entering play tonight, the 2024 club was tied with the 1949 Boston Braves who went 18 straight, a rotation that featured Spahn & Sain— Kevin McAlpin (@KevinMcAlpin) August 31, 2024
The Braves have gone 13-6 over these 19 starts, which has been a huge reason why this team has returned to the lofty heights of being 13 games over .500 and also why they've been able to consolidate their position in the Postseason. Back on August 11 when this streak started, the Braves were teetering on the brink and only had a 62 percent shot at making the Postseason — not an absolute nightmare scenario but certainly close to it!
After these 19 starts and going 13-6 over that span, the Braves have increased their Postseason odds to 88 percent and are holding on to a three-game lead for the third and final Wild Card spot and have also gotten within two games of both the Padres and the Diamondbacks in the standings. They still need to remain on their toes and not get complacent but if this does keep up, then the Braves could have a very decent shot at returning to their spot at the top of the Wild Card standings.
While a lot of credit has to go to the offense for finally starting to come alive on a consistent basis recently, a ton of credit needs to go to this starting pitching rotation as well. Things are really starting to come together for the Braves right now, which is a good sign if they can get into the tournament. I've said it a bunch of times but if they can keep up this level of pitching then they'll be a very dangerous team to deal with come October. Pitching can carry you to a championship and it's definitely helping right now to carry the Braves to success as we enter the final month of the season.
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