Atlanta Braves Morning Chop/Box… Road Woe-iors

Aug 19, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; A member of the San Diego Padres Pad Squad waves the victory flag after a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves to complete a sweep of the series at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

You’ve probably heard about the terrible numbers that Atlanta has for road games this season, but it’s actually worse than even that.

Recall that the Braves began the year by sweeping the Marlins in Miami.  Shortly thereafter, they went into Toronto and took 2 of 3 from the Blue Jays… almost sweeping them.

Since then?  16-42 on the road.  Their overall 21-43 record qualifies as second-worst in baseball (Phillies are at 19-43, Marlins a slightly better 21-41).

So why is this happening?  Here’s a few hints:

• It’s not the hitting:  .253 batting (8th in baseball)
• It’s partly run-scoring:  23rd
• It’s not strikeouts:  24th (i.e., 7th fewest)
• It’s partly OPS:  28th
• It’s not OBP:  14th best
• It’s kinda the pitching (4.54, 7th highest)

All that taken together doesn’t necessarily add up to a road win percentage in the low .300’s, but… it has.

Any good news here?  Well, with 42 games remaining on the schedule, only 17 of those will be away from Turner Field… 13 after this foursome starting up at Wrigley Field this evening.  Atlanta is 8 games over .500 at home with a bunch of division rivals coming in for September visits.

Here’s the box score details from yesterday afternoon’s swoon:
 

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