ATLANTA, GA - AUGUST 5: Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves is tagged out by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. #27 of the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning of a game at Truist Park on August 5, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
It’s kind of remarkable how well the Atlanta Braves have done so far in 2020 considering the obstacles they’ve had facing them.
The Atlanta Braves are one of only two teams to start the season with a stretch of playing 20 straight games.
A stretch that will finally come to an end on Thursday after playing four in Philadelphia and two in New York against the Yankees.
Not only that, but they’ve played some pretty good teams.
The Mets and Rays are two teams that had playoff aspirations when the season began. Both are out to slow starts in part because of the Braves.
But still, facing Jacob deGrom twice in a week and going up against that Rays pitching staff for four games is a tall task for any offense that is trying to get rolling.
And then you consider the struggles the Braves have had in the back-end of their starting rotation, and it’s truly amazing that they’ve gone 9-5 through their first 14 games, including a 7-2 homestand.
However, things may get even more difficult for them as they now hit the road again and face two formidable foes in the Phillies and Yankees.
Those two just finished playing each other and split a four-game series.
The Phillies started the season losing two-of-three to the Miami Marlins who are currently leading the NL East.
After that Marlins series they sat idle for nearly a week before resuming play on Monday against the Yankees.
Meanwhile, the Yankees have been one of the best teams in baseball — as many expected them to be — with a 9-3 start. Granted, five of those wins have come against the Orioles and Red Sox.
But still, the Yankees were considered heavy favorites to win the World Series before the season began.
Gerrit Cole pitched on Monday against the Phillies and is scheduled to pitch Saturday (Aug. 8), which means he likely won’t pitch against the Braves this time around.
The Braves could also get lucky and miss either Aaron Nola or Zack Wheeler in their series with the Phillies as both pitched on Wednesday. Right now the schedule on ESPN has Nola slated to pitch the last game of that series for the Phillies.
Either way, even if the Braves go 2-4 on this road trip and finish this 20-game stretch 11-9 I think that would be pretty impressive.
Certainly, we’re hoping for a lot more, but in this shortened season with eight teams from the National League making the postseason, you really just need to hover around .500.
But here’s to hoping the Braves stay hot and finish off this difficult stretch on a high note.
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August 07, 2020 at 10:13PM
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Atlanta Braves Hit the Road to Finish Off Difficult Stretch to Start 2020 - Tomahawk Take
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