Atlanta Braves will face a challenging May

The April slate of games should have allowed the Atlanta Braves a chance to get ahead in the East.   May is looking tougher.

The Atlanta Braves have been trying to get their groove back this week against the Cubs, but extended consistency has been difficult to muster for this club as the first month draws to a close.

To that end, the month of May is going to provide its own challenges, and the surprise is that some of these opponents have been playing a lot better than expected thus far.

• TORONTO:  3 games away (April 30-May 2)
• TORONTO:  3 games at home (May 11-13)

Right away, Atlanta will be heading to Florida — starting just before the calendar page is torn off — to face Toronto.  Yes, the Blue Jays are still toiling away in their Spring home at Dunedin, FL.

On top of the unfamiliar digs down there, the Jays have been playing in front of … well, virtually nobody… typically under 2,000 fans at a time.  To that extent, it’s going to almost feel like a 2020 game.

But the Jays have been treading water at 11-12 (as of this writing), though they have scored more than they’ve given up (+9 run differential).  That’s better than most of the NL East teams can say.

In addition, they will be getting George Springer back, which should provide an added boost to their offense.  The Braves will have their hands full to keep those bats in check… over six total games this month.

• WASHINGTON:  3 games away (May 4-6)
• WASHINGTON:  3 games at home (May 31-June 2)

Which Nationals club will the Braves see?  The entire reason that the Nats are in last place right now involves the health of their team.

Juan Soto and Stephen Strasburg are both on the shelf (both for shoulder issues), and it’s pretty obvious that these players are key to this club’s success path.  Without them… they’re in trouble.

These aren’t the only injuries on their squad, but are the most significant, and the result is that the Nationals could end up being the softest opponent on the docket for the month.

• PHILADELPHIA:  3 games at home (May 7-9)

The Phillies (again already?) will usher in the Mother’s Day weekend, and they still represent a difficult challenge for Atlanta… and right now these teams are tied in the standings.

Their offense still lives and dies around the performance of Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto, and that’s perhaps why their own run differential count is under water.

Still, their newly revamped bullpen is doing well enough, so the way to beat these guys is to have a mid-game lead, for late comebacks are going to be tough to manage.

• MILWAUKEE:  3 games away (May 14-16)

There are people who believe that the Brewers have a pitching staff that can compete at the highest levels this year.

Indeed, their current position atop the NL Central division at 14-10 suggests these people may be right… and this is happening despite being short-handed on offense.

If the Brewers can ever get Christian Yelich back on the field, they could really become a force.  But even without him, they can’t be taken lightly at all.

• NEW YORK METS:  3 games at home (May 17-19)
• NEW YORK METS:  3 games away (May 28-30)

Right now, there’s just one thing to say about this Mets team:  scoring just one or two runs against them could be enough to win.

That’s still difficult to do against their pitching, so I don’t say that lightly, but so far, the offense that they were counting on hasn’t shown up at all.

Still:  they’re 9-10 and essentially even with the Braves, so expect a fight from a team that believes they should be winning more often.

• PITTSBURGH:  4 games at home (May 20-23)

You would have been laughed out of the room in March had you suggested that the Pirates would (a) have a better record than Atlanta at this point, while (b) phenom Ke’Bryan Hayes remains on the Injured List after only 5 official ABs on the season.

Yet here we are… so don’t overlook these scrappy Pirates:  they are finding ways to win.

• BOSTON:  2 games at Fenway (May 25-26)

Here’s another bet you could have won back in March… that the Red Sox would be in first place — and by 3+ games! — at this point.

The Sox are hitting (+22 run differential) and winning (16-9), but the weird part is that they are winning on the road (8-1 record).

Hopefully, this Braves club that had excellent success at their park last year can bring this team down to earth.

OFF DAYS:  4 (May 3, 10, 24, and 27)

So the Atlanta Braves will have to step things up in May as they face a bunch of over-achieving teams in May aside from others with very similar records to their own.

The jump that April should have provided… didn’t end up materializing.  You could argue that this was because of a slow start to hitting or a bevy of injuries, but the result is still the same.

Regardless, they will have to pick up the pace in May — despite a tough docket ahead.