ATLANTA -- Was it a coincidence that Ozzie Albies constructed his best day of a frustration-filled season just two days after good friend Ronald Acuña Jr. returned to the Braves' lineup?
"He brings a lot of energy to the lineup, we all see it,” Albies said. “It’s great. When you see him going, the team goes with him.”
That was the hope. But even after Acuña began the weekend with a bang and continued to show his tremendous talents throughout the series with San Diego, the Braves didn’t take advantage of his impressive return. They squandered Albies’ first multi-extra-base hit game of the season in a 5-3 loss to the Padres on Sunday afternoon.
San Diego went 6-1 against Atlanta this year.
Here are three takeaways from a loss that moved the Braves two games below .500 (25-27) entering a road series against the first-place Phillies on Tuesday night.
1) Was this the start of something?
As Albies’ struggles extended over the past few weeks, there was more reason to question whether the Braves should give the second base duties to Eli White. But the chatter was halted Sunday, when the three-time All-Star tallied an RBI double in the second before fueling a two-run fifth with another double off Dylan Cease.
Albies has raised his OPS from .587 to .650 while hitting .366 (15-for-41) during his current 11-game hitting streak. This has been an encouraging stretch. But before Sunday, just two of the hits during this streak were of the extra-base variety, and both were doubles.
This isn’t the kind of production expected from the 28-year-old second baseman who had a .479 slugging percentage from 2017-23.
"It's been very encouraging the last few days and even on the last road trip,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “That'd be huge if we could get him going consistently, like he has over the last few years.”
Albies’ power production actually began to wane last year. He had a .407 slugging percentage in the 90 games he played before missing two months with a fractured left wrist suffered on July 21.
Albies is in the final guaranteed year of a deal that includes a $7 million club option for both of the next two seasons. He remains one the most beloved members of the clubhouse. But his offensive struggles combined with a significant decrease in arm strength created reason to at least question how he might fit with Atlanta over the next couple years.
“I’ve been working real hard to get the swing where I need it to be,” Albies said. “It’s coming along.”
2) Schellwenbach still learning
Spencer Schwellenbach matched a career high with 11 strikeouts, but he also surrendered a pair of homers in Sunday’s loss. Gavin Sheets’ decisive two-run homer came against a 0-2 slider that was below the zone, but obviously not down far enough.
“I’ve just got to learn when it’s time to execute a pitch, you’ve got to do it,” Schwellenbach said.
This was actually the first time Schwellenbach has surrendered a homer against an 0-2 pitch. The 24-year-old hurler has posted a 3.38 ERA over the 192 innings he has completed through his first 32 career starts.
"I don’t know if bouncing a breaking ball is as easy as some guys make it look,” Snitker said. “That’s something that comes with age and experience and all of that.”
Schwellenbach quickly righted himself after posting a 7.17 ERA over a four-start stretch from April 15-May 3. He has a 2.67 ERA in the four starts that have followed.
3) Leaving an impression
The Braves weren’t the only ones praising Acuña as he played his first series since tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament on Memorial Day weekend last year. Padres third baseman Manny Machado felt fortunate to cross the plate just ahead of the 104.9 mph throw the Braves outfielder made on Jackson Merrill's RBI single in the first inning.
"104? Damn," said Machado, who scored on Merrill's single ahead of Acuña's throw -- the hardest he's thrown from the outfield in his career, per Statcast. "He's got a hose. I've been part of that before, trying to run out a double and I learned my lesson. I was trying to get him this time and I got him. Now we're even.”
Acuña hit a 467-foot homer against the first big league pitch he saw in 362 days on Friday. He homered again on Saturday and displayed his rocket arm in each of his first three games back. He went 4-for-12 with a double and two homers during the three-game set.
"He’s a beast, we all know that,” Albies said.