PITTSBURGH — Facing Ronald Acuña Jr., Dansby Swanson and Austin Riley to start a game can be intimidating for any pitcher. But the numbers show it’s pretty dangerous to go up against someone the Braves have placed in the bottom three of their roster this year.
Max Fried boosted his Cy Young Award resume by delivering another 6-1 win over the Pirates, bottom of the table for the Braves, at PNC Park on Tuesday night. Atlanta hit in the first four innings and then started a fifth run with six direct hits.
“Just by the numbers, it’s a pretty crazy lineup,” said Robbie Grossman, a Braves left fielder who has fueled Atlanta’s bottom-bottom success since he was acquired by the Tigers on Aug. 2.
With Fried allowing just a three-hit run and a seven strikeout walk through eight innings, the Braves (77-48) were within two games behind the first-ranked Mets (79-46) in the National League East. Atlanta has won 13 of their last 15 games thanks to strong rotation and a productive lineup.
How deep is the lineup?
Well, the Braves lead the majors with 78 RBIs from ninth place in the order. The Dodgers entered Tuesday with 65 in second place while the Giants were in third place with 56. Atlanta is on track to get 101 RBIs from ninth place. The 1996 Rangers (100 RBIs) are the only team to reach triple digits from last place on order.
Looking at seventh, eighth, and ninth on the lineup, the Braves lead the majors in home runs (66), runs (203), and RBIs (196) from those positions in the batting order. The Dodgers place second in every category. But they were down 20 home runs, five runs down and 24 RBIs down from those spots of their order when Atlanta celebrated its last win.
“I think what makes a deep cast is when guys come out and we get good production from the bottom, bottom third,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker. “Regardless of who was there, it was pretty good.”
Pirates starting pitcher JT Brubaker quickly learned of the depth of Atlanta’s lineup. After Travis d’Arnaud started the fifth with a landmark homer, Michael Harris II put a double between two singles by William Contreras and Vaughn Grissom. Grossman and Acuña capped a streak of six straight hits with back-to-back singles.
In six Plate appearances, the Braves went from the wrong side of a one-hit bid to a 4-1 lead. Only one of those six plate appearances was made by a player who occupied one of the top four spots in the Braves’ lineup.
“Every single guy that goes up there threatens to take you low or get a base hit or go on base and steal a base,” Fried said. “It significantly reduces your error rate. That puts a lot of pressure on you.”
Swanson, an All-Star this season, started the year in ninth place. Harris, a top contender for NL Rookie of the Year, has held that spot regularly since debuting on May 28. Having recently sat at the bottom of the rankings, Grossman has distanced himself from the frustration he felt before being taken over by the Braves.
Grissom hit a career-high three on Tuesday and is now .420 with 1.123 OPS in the first 14 games of his career. Harris hit .301 with a .929 OPS in August, and Grossman has racked up a few timely hits building a .714 OPS since arriving in Atlanta.
The end of the lineup has allowed the Braves to keep winning, while Swanson (.659 OPS) and Riley (.654 OPS) have weakened their NL MVP resumes this month.
“[Grissom] and Mike have been playing their asses since I got here,” Grossman said. “It was fun to watch them play. I’m just lucky to be a part of it.”