Atlanta Braves Hope to Survive a Brutal Stretch of Games
The Atlanta Braves have lost two of the best starting pitchers at the worst possible time as they enter their most difficult stretch of the season.
We knew May was going to be a difficult month for the Atlanta Braves facing a lot of good teams with high aspirations in 2023. They've handled things well so far splitting a double-header with Mets, sweeping the Marlins in Miami, winning a series over the Orioles, and then splitting a two-game series with the Red Sox.
But now things really get difficult and they are without their ace in Max Fried and a 21-game winner from a year ago in Kyle Wright.
Nine of the Braves next twelve games come against teams who are among the top six in all of baseball right now. Six of those games come on the road. It starts this weekend as they continue the gauntlet that is the American League East, going up against the Toronto Blue Jays.
One positive for the Braves in this series is that they avoid Kevin Gausman and Alek Manoah.
Meanwhile, the Braves will be throwing two guys in Spencer Strider and Bryce Elder who are top eight in the National League in ERA. (We don't know what's going to happen Sunday yet, but it becomes very important for the Braves to win those first two games in order to take the series.)
Then they go to Arlington to face a surging Rangers team that currently leads the American League West. Jacob deGrom is currently out so the Braves will avoid him and Jon Gray, who pitches on Saturday.
That series will feature two of the best catchers in baseball right now in Sean Murphy and Jonah Heim. Corey Seager could be returning for the Rangers in that series as he begins a rehab assignment on Thursday.
After that, they come back home -- where they have not been great this year -- to play three against Marines, three against the Dodgers, and four against the Phillies. It begins a stretch of thirteen straight games to end the month of May.
This will be their biggest test of the year and they'll go through it with some key losses in the rotation. Everyone will have to step up and be at their best. At some point, they'll need at least two of Dylan Dodd, Jared Shuster, and Michael Soroka to contribute and keep them in games.
READ: Can the Atlanta Braves replace Max Fried and Kyle Wright from within?
The lineup is finally getting to full strength, which is great because the Braves may need to win some 8-6 games over the next three weeks...but if they can get through this stretch and still maintain a fairly comfortable lead in the NL East, you have to feel pretty good about their chances the rest of the way.
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