Atlanta Braves Week in Review (5/20-5/26)

Sorry Dan, I just found this picture too amusing… I had to use it. Stop bein bad at defense and maybe you won’t ever look this silly. Mandatory Credit: John Munson/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports

This past week has been a great one for Atlanta, going 5-1 the past seven days. They swept a poor Minnesota Twins team and they also won three of four against the New York Mets.

The offense has been spectacular, scoring 33 runs in all of the games, which comes out to an average of 5.5 runs per game. The pitching  has been solid as well, allowing just 17 runs over the same period of time and 2.8 per game. The starting pitchers have allowed only nine runs (1.5 per game) while the struggling bullpen has allowed eight in less than half the innings the starters threw.

Going forward this will be an area of concern for the Braves, as two of their best relievers won’t be coming back this season. A strong return from Jordan Walden later this week could do a lot for the team and take some of the burden off of closer Craig Kimbrel.

Brian McCann, Evan Gattis, and Ramiro Pena are the winners this past week offensively.

• McCann- .462/.462/.769 with six hits in 13 at bats including a double and a homer.
• Gattis- .375/.444/1.125 with three hits in just eight at bats, but they were clutch every single time. He had two homers and seven RBIs
• Pena- .364/.364/.727 with four hits in eleven at bats. If Uggla wasn’t still hitting for power, Pena would probably make a case for more playing time at second base.

Tonight the Braves take on a Toronto Blue Jays team that is sitting in last place in the AL East with a 21-29 record. The Braves (30-19) will look to extend their five game lead on the Washington Nationals (26-25) who are struggling despite being in second place.