Braves’ offense struggles against Jake Irvin, Nationals

WASHINGTON — Losing Ronald Acuña Jr. was significant. But the Braves know they are better than they were with Acuña and during the two weeks that have elapsed since he suffered a season-ending knee injury.

“We’re not playing like we can and we should,” Braves first baseman Matt Olson said. “There’s little things, like second and third with nobody out and we don’t get a run in. I’ve got to do a better job with the infield back. That should be a run every time.”

Olson’s infield pop out with runners at second and third with nobody out in the sixth inning accounted for just one of the opportunities the Braves squandered in a 2-1 loss to the Nationals on Friday night at Nationals Park.

The Braves tallied one or fewer runs a MLB-low 12 times last year. They have already done it 10 times this year, including nine times in their past 35 games.

“These are all really good baseball players,” Braves manager Brian Snitker. “They’ve all hit, and they will again.”

When the Braves’ offense slumbered throughout much of May, the team could look forward to the fact Sean Murphy and Austin Riley would return to the lineup by the end of the month. But Acuña went down the day before those two All-Stars ended their extended health-related absences.

This is not just a matter of missing the 2023 National League MVP. The Braves scored one run or fewer in six of the final 23 full games Acuña played before being injured on May 26. Offensive numbers are down throughout the game, but it was hard to foresee the decline having such an impact on this Atlanta lineup that became the first AL/NL team to ever slug .501 last year.

“I think a lot of teams would love to be in the position we’re in,” Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale said. “These guys have done such a good job of scoring runs in bunches that it might feel more skewed than it really is, do you know what I mean?”

One year after the Braves’ lineup included seven players with an .800 OPS or better, it is jarring to see Marcell Ozuna (1.009) as Atlanta’s only regular with an OPS above .775. But with offense down around the game, it seems more prudent to look at the plus stats.

These are the stats that normalize numbers across the league. It doesn’t exactly make them pretty, but it puts them in perspective. The Braves entered Friday with 103 weighted runs created plus (wRC+), which means they have been slightly better than average (100). Ozuna ranked among the league leaders in this category, but you have to go way down the list to find other Braves. Ozzie Albies (113 wRC+) ranked No. 66, and Olson (110 wRC+) ranked No. 72.

Acuña, Olson, Ozuna and Riley all ranked among the top 22 players in the game in this statistical category last year.

“The attitude is good,” Snitker said. “Nobody is sulking. It’s just not happening for us. I still believe it’s going to happen. At some point in time, we’re going to get this thing rolling.”

Even with all of their offensive struggles, the Braves are nine games above .500 at 35-26. They are just two games behind where they were through the first 61 games of last year’s 104-win season. Acuña influenced much of last year’s success. But there’s still plenty of talent to back a pitching staff that continues to benefit from Sale’s presence.

Coming off a rough start against the A’s, Sale tallied 10 strikeouts and limited the Nationals to a pair of runs, both scored in the fourth of his seven innings. Unfortunately, the offense didn’t provide the one hit that could have changed the outcome.

Ozuna’s 106.7 mph groundout ended a bases-loaded threat against Jake Irvin in the third inning. That kind of bad luck is just part of the game. Ozuna was fortunate in the sixth, when the wind helped him tally a double that put runners at second and third with none out. After Olson popped out, Albies hit a comebacker and Adam Duvall flied out to left field.

The Braves remained scoreless until Ozuna tallied another wind-aided double ahead of an Olson single. They have lost four of six games to the Nationals over the past two weeks. But the morale still seems high.

“I’m excited to see what happens, because I know who we have in this clubhouse,” Sale said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun when it clicks and when we get rolling. We’ve just got to keep picking each other up and fighting.”