April shows 2 sides of team

Braves aim to build on 4-1 finish after two difficult losing streaks.

A strange and streaky first month for the Braves did nothing to darken the sunny optimism they developed during spring training.

“I don’t think so,” manager Brian Snitker said Monday before the team opened a week-long homestand with the first of a four-game series against the Mets. “Not yet. You feel that way in the spring but you’ve always got to play the game.”

With 23 games in the books, the Braves produced mixed evidence about their true ability.

Their 10-13 April included losing streaks of five and six games. Yet the Braves also swept four games from the Padres, who won six of their next 13 games with a series victory over the Giants included. The Braves last week took both games against the Mets in New York and won two of three at the Brewers last weekend, with a one-run loss in Sunday’s finale.

For Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte, the 4-1 finish to the trip was more representative of his team’s potential than the sixgame losing streak that preceded it. He said the Braves are aiming for the playoffs.

“If we didn’t think that way, you are not going to see us play as hard as we are,” Inciarte said. “Everybody here (in the clubhouse) thinks that we belong in the playoffs. That’s why we are playing this year. I don’t see this as a rebuild team. And the front

office has an idea or whatever, but we believe that we can win and we believe we can be in the playoffs.”

If that’s the optimistic view of the Braves’ April, there is support for it.

The Braves added three veteran pitchers in the rotation behind Julio Teheran with the idea that it would make them more competitive after starting pitching hurt them in 2016. The early results are positive: A 3.87 starters ERA entering Monday was fifth-best in the majors even with Bartolo Colon’s recent struggles.

The shaky defense that plagued the team early in the season has stabilized for the most part. The Braves ranked 23rd in the composite advanced defensive stats at Fan Graphs. There are occasional slip-ups — shortstop Dansby Swanson’s error gave the Brewers an opening Sunday — but the fielding has been better.

“Our defense, we have shored that up,” Snitker said.

The Braves sputtered offensively until they erupted for 39 runs over the last five games of the month. Their 4.52 runs per game in April ranked 13th in the majors and their batting average (.263) ranked sixth.

The Braves compensated for a so-so on-base percentage (.323) with pretty good power: their .417 slugging percentage was 11th-best in the majors in April. The Braves slugged a leagueworst .289 in April 2016.

There are some mitigating factors this season, including key injuries.

Right fielder Matt Kemp (1.077 on-base plus slugging) played just 13 games in April because of a hamstring injury. Catcher Tyler Flowers (career-best .391 average in April) would have played more than 18 games if not for his hamstring injury.

The Braves also cited their schedule as a drawback. They played 16 April road games, including a handful in cool weather, and said they couldn’t find a rhythm with three off days among the first 10.

Before the recent trip, the Braves were swept in three games by the Nationals, who lead the NL East, and then swept by the previously staggering Phillies, who won all three games despite not playing particularly well. The Braves also lost three straight games to the Pirates while allowing seven unearned runs.

It remains to be seen if those setbacks were anomalies or signs that the Braves aren’t good enough to avoid such ruts.

“What matters the most is how consistent we can be until the end because, of course, the goal is to make it to the playoffs,” Inciarte said. “If we keep playing the way we’ve been playing the last five games, I know we are going to be there at the end.”

After a strong finish to April, the Braves were among the many middling National League teams still trying to sort themselves out in the standings.

“I don’t think we’ve hit on all cylinders yet,” Snitker said. “I think there have been a lot of really good things that have happened here. We are going to get better as a club. I don’t think we’ve put together the whole game yet. We played pretty good at the end of this road trip and you start seeing what we are capable of.”

MORRY GASH / ASSOCIATED PRESS Freddie Freeman is among Braves who had a strong April, batting .381 with nine homers and a 1.283 on base plus slugging. One of his home runs (above) came in the ninth inning Friday, giving the Braves a 10-8 victory at Milwaukee.