If you've been watching the Atlanta Braves recently, you might have noticed a trend. No matter who the starting pitcher has been, it seems like the Braves offense can't touch them. Meanwhile, once the club is able to get to their opponent's bullpen, it seems like the floodgates open.
If this is your recent experience watching the club, it's not just you. In fact, over the last 35 days, the Braves' offense has in fact been dreadful against starting pitching, and yet they keep winning games thanks to their excellence against bullpens.
Braves' splits versus starters and relievers could make the difference this postseason
Since August 17, when the Braves began a series against the Twins, opponent starting pitchers have managed to hold Braves hitters to a .227/.282/.325 slash line in the last 32 games. They have a combined 2.49 ERA over 169.2 innings, which comes out to a little more than 5.1 innnings per start.
While the Braves have had to face aces like Jacob Misiorowski, Cristopher Sanchez, Jesús Luzardo, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, they've also found themselves struggling against mediocre starting pitchers like Mason Adams, Anthony Molina, and Andrew Painter, as well as multi-inning openers in Brad Lord and Zach Agnos, who they could not buy a run off of.
In this span, the Braves have only found a way to score four or more runs off of the opposing starter in two of the 32 games they've played in. However, the Braves are 18-14 over this span, and the opposing starting pitcher has only taken the losing decision in six of these 14 losses.
This weekend against the Astros might have been a perfect example of the club's struggles against starting pitching. Peter Lambert, Hayden Wesneski, and Hunter Brown combined for 15.2 innings and just three runs allowed. While all three Astros starters have had decent seasons, one would expect the Braves to be able to muster more than three runs against the trio.
However, there performance against Houston's starters didn't end up mattering, as the Braves crushed the Astros relief corps. The Bullpen combined for 11.1 innings, allowing 13 runs and giving up five homers. This led to a sweep by the Braves, including the division-clinching victory on Sunday.
What the Braves did against Houston's bullpen wasn't an isolated incident. Over the last 35 days, the Braves have slashed .280/.342/.475 against relievers, and have scored 76 runs in 113.2 innings, compared to just 47 runs in 169.2 innings against starting pitchers.
The Braves have torched a few low-leverage relievers, and a position player in this span, but they've also managed to beat relievers like Jhoan Duran, Tanner Scott, Alex McFarlane, and Kevin Kelly, all of whom are expected to play big roles on their team this postseason.
While fans would certainly prefer that the Braves find a way to score early and often, their success against bullpens could come in handy during the playoffs, when starters are often on short leashes. There's a chance the Braves may have to face two of the best rotations in MLB if they want to play for a championship, and if they can't hit the starters, they need to find a way to get to the bullpen as quickly as possible.
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