3 Braves Observations from Series Win Against Yankees

The Atlanta Braves took two out of three against the New York Yankees in the Bronx over the weekend.

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Max Fried / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves capped off their weekend series against the New York Yankees with a 3-1 victory. Center fielder Jarred Kelenic recorded two RBI while left-hander Max Fried allowed just 1 run on six hits and struck out four in six innings.

The Braves have now won eight of their last 10 games to reaffirm their strong control of the top National League wild card spot as the season nears its midpoint. The Braves have also crept to within 7 games of the first place Philadelphia Phillies.

Here are three observations from the Braves series victory against the Yankees.

Jarred Kelenic Continues to Look Like a Leadoff Hitter

The 24-year-old has still only made eight starts at the top of the Braves order this season. So the sample is small.

But in the leadoff spot, he’s hitting .368 with an astonishing .684 slugging percentage. He hit a solo homer Sunday, which is his third since moving to the top of the lineup.

Kelenic has posted a .386 slugging percentage when batting in any other spot of the order this season.

Will he be able to keep up this production? Well, he’s not likely to have a slugging percentage above .600 in the No. 1 spot at the end of the season. But with each passing day, it looks more like the Braves have found their Ronald Acuña replacement for the rest of the season.

Max Fried Sees Season ERA Fall to 3.00, Chris Sale’s ERA Dips

The southpaw saw his ERA jump over 3.00 after he gave up four runs in five frames against the Baltimore Orioles on June 11. It took Fried just two starts to get that ERA back to 3.00.

On Sunday, he allowed 1 run in six innings. Fried held the vaunted Yankees to just one extra-base hit.

Fried has given up 30 earned runs in 90 innings to begin this season. But as impressive as he’s been, fellow lefty Chris Sale has been even better.

Sale also held the Yankees to one run and struck out 8 over five innings Friday. With the performance, Sale’s season ERA dropped to 2.91.

Behind Sale and Fried, the Braves won the series in New York.

Braves Appear to be Back

As previously mentioned, the Braves are 8-2 in their last 10 games. That success is no longer just a week old and against losing ball clubs. Coming into the series, the Yankees possessed the best win percentage in the MLB.

Atlanta’s pitching has been strong throughout the entire season. It has remained great during the team’s winning streak, but the offense has also come alive. The Braves have averaged 5.3 runs per game over the last 10 contests.

The most encouraging fact, though, is the Braves are winning in multiple ways. In the last 10 games, they have won five times while scoring at least six runs. But they have also won on three occasions by scoring three runs or fewer.

That versatility was on display in New York, as the Braves won 8-1 on Friday and then 3-1 on Sunday.

After taking two of three in New York, it’s now clear that the obituaries for this team at the beginning of June were very premature.