Slowly but surely, the Atlanta Braves are doing whatever they can to dig themselves out of the 0-7 hole they dug themselves into. Atlanta took Game 1 of their road series north of the border vs. the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night, 8-4. Yes, the bullpen continues to resemble little more than festering garbage, but Atlanta's big bats are finally starting to come alive of late. This is a good thing.
While designated hitter Marcell Ozuna has been the team's most consistent batter for well over two years now, it has been third baseman Austin Riley's bat that has really started to heat up. He hit a pair of home runs at the Rogers Centre on his five RBI night vs. the Blue Jays. When Riley is hitting like this, he can play at an NL MVP level, catapulting the Braves' vaunted lineup to its highest of highs.
Riley commented on how well he is seeing the ball of late, hoping it is a sign of more good to come.
“It’s what I’m there to do, drive in runs and do damage. Tonight was one of those nights where it felt like I was [doing] what I’m supposed to do. It felt good.”
On the other side of the coin, Ozuna did not make the trip to Canada for the Braves' road series with the Blue Jays. He instead went back to Atlanta after the conclusion of this past weekend's road series at the Tampa Bay Rays. Ozuna had an MRI on a sore hip as a precautionary measure. He noticed it in the latter part of the Rays series when he was struggling to run the bases at times for the Braves.
Atlanta manager Brian Snitker commented on Ozuna's emerging injury and what is to come for him.
“We just wanted to make sure it wasn’t anything big. There’s some inflammation in there. He’s going to stay back and get treated up. We’ll just see every day how it gets.”
Bryan De La Cruz served as the designated hitter filling in for Ozuna in Monday night's road victory.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
Marcell Ozuna injury is the last thing Braves offense needs right now
Much has been made about that one at-bat in Miami a few years ago that changed everything for Ozuna. His willingness to let the ball get deeper in the zone and drive it the other way has opened up the entire field for him. He went from being on an albatross of a contract for the Braves, to being a no-brainer decision for the Braves to pick up his team option this past winter. He has been hitting so well.
Given that Ozuna is a peer of mine in his mid-30s, I can understand the issues at hand from a hip standpoint. He may be a professional athlete, but the hip is the last thing you want to injure if you plan on doing a lot of running. The worst part in all this is it takes a long time to heal, and may potentially complicate his mechanics at the plate. Perhaps a bit of rest could be just what the doctor ordered?
What is important is other guys are finally stepping up at the plate. Riley has been a huge boost to the offense over the last week and change. The bottom of the order leaves a lot to be desired, but the top half of it is starting to live up to its lofty expectations. The offense is coming alive and we should reasonably expect for the starting rotation to do the same. I just wish the bullpen was not so awful...
In the meantime, look for the Braves to be extremely cautious when it comes to the health of Ozuna.