3 observations from the Braves’ amazing series sweep against the Marlins

On Wednesday, the Braves completed a sweep of their NL East rivals, the Miami Marlins. The team is currently preparing for a major series with the red-hot Cleveland Guardians

Let’s start by noting that the Miami Marlins are terrible. They are far poorer than anyone expected heading into the season, including myself, who predicted they’d finish last in the NL East, but they’re nearing even lower depths in the early going, with the poorest record in the national league at 6-20.

This is the majors’ second-worst record, trailing only the 3-22 White Sox.

The Braves continue to beat up on bad teams

The truth is that the Braves have always been good at beating up on weak opponents since the beginning of their current run of NL East supremacy in 2018. What has propelled them to 100-win seasons in the last two years is their ability to regularly beat both excellent and bad teams, but any club must have a foundation. A great foundation for making the MLB playoffs is to beat up on teams with bad records, which the Braves have routinely done.

Michael Harris II walks it off and the Braves sweep the Marlins! pic.twitter.com/8XPJleovxT

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 25, 2024

The walk-off victory over the Marlins on Wednesday was their ninth consecutive over clubs below.500, dating back to their 5-1 loss on April 18. That was only their second loss against a team now below.500 this season; they are 11-2 against such teams.

On paper, anyone can see that the Braves are a stacked team that outperforms opponents like the Marlins. But they have to go out there and prove it, and the Braves are doing so again this season.

Braves’ staff starting to find its groove despite the loss of Strider

Spencer Strider was the center of attention for this Braves pitching staff entering the season, and for good reasons.

It’s why his season-ending injury was so painful to Braves Country, and why Strider’s loss seemed like a larger concern at the time. Make no mistake, this is a superior rotation with Strider, but even without him, it is still one of the best in baseball, as the series against Miami demonstrated.

The complete stat lines for the Braves’ starters in this series are insane.

First, we had the joyous return of Bryce Elder, who looked like his previous All-Star self, shutting out the Marlins in 6.2 innings, allowing eight hits and striking out only four.

Then, just when we thought Elder had thrown a masterpiece, Max Fried had us reconsider what a masterpiece is, delivering his second complete game shutout in less than 100 pitches and first since 2021. In the win, he allowed only three hits and struck out six. Max’s third career “Maddux” puts him behind only Tom Glavine, who has five, and Greg Maddux, who has ten.

most Madduxes (9-IP SHO, sub-100 pitches), Braves since pitch counts tracked (1988):

Greg Maddux: 10
Tom Glavine: 5
Max Fried: 3 https://t.co/zRVPDQcdkq

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 24, 2024

Then came the series’ “worst” starting effort, with Reynaldo Lopez going seven innings, three hits, and one run. He’s off to a hot start for the Bravos, with a 0.72 ERA in four outings. Lopez presently has the second-best ERA in MLB.

You may be thinking, “But this was the Marlins, a very bad offensive baseball team.” And you would be correct. But let’s look at two players who aren’t having a bad year at the plate: Luis Arraez (.299 BA,.717 OPS) and Bryan De La Cruz (.262 BA,.725 BA).

Arraez performed as expected, going 7-for-13 with zero extra-base hits. De La Cruz, on the other hand, was 2-for-12 with five strikeouts and appeared to struggle at the plate throughout the series.

The lesson of the story is that the Marlins aren’t the best way to judge your pitching ability. The Braves were dominant on the mound this series, something most Braves supporters doubted after Strider’s injury, even against the Marlins. However, we are beginning to see the new staff settle in.

The Big Bear continues to rake

Going into the season finale on Wednesday, Marcell Ozuna appeared to have calmed down little.

He went 1-for-6 in the first two games of the series, but in the final game, he demonstrated why he is a serious early MVP candidate, going 3-for-4 at the plate and driving in two of the four runs the Braves needed to win.

In the end, as the series with Cleveland begins on Friday, Ozuna is still hitting.344 with 18 runs scored, nine home runs, 29 RBI, and a 1.094 OPS. It’s been nearly a month of MVP-level hitting, and perhaps much longer. He fended off Braves fans who wanted him DFA’d early last year before figuring things out and becoming one of the team’s most reliable hitters by the conclusion of the season.

We *really* take those!#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/VpoQCKnhGS

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) April 24, 2024

Marcell presently has the second-most home runs, trailing Mike Trout, who has ten. He trails only Mookie Betts for the league’s top OPS, but the Braves slugger leads Major League Baseball in slugging percentage (.678) and RBI (29).

The 30-year-old is on pace for 63 home runs and 204 RBIs. That is unlikely to happen, but it is a good measure of how well he is now functioning.

He is locked in at the plate, and there is no reason to expect he will not remain so as the 2024 season progresses. If he continues to produce at this rate, Atlanta will most certainly pick up his club option for 2025.