Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports Can a return to Truist Park help the Braves offense wake up? The is zero doubt that basically the entire Braves lineup is currently in a slump. But one factor that has played a part in the recent struggles is the fact that the Braves have faced some very good pitching, especially in terms of relievers. And while a return to Truist Park could be a welcome change that could lead to better results, the Braves competition does not get much easier in the form of the Boston Red Sox. Boston boasts the best starting rotation ERA in the majors, and their bullpen is in the top 10 of relief ERAs as well. Fortunately, Atlanta will have Reynaldo Lopez and Chris Sale on the mound, who arguably have been the best pitchers for the Braves so far this season. If Atlanta can get the offense going, especially early, perhaps a few wins will be the result. Braves News The Braves struggles as April turned May into may this season may sound a bit familiar as just a year ago, the Braves were experiencing similar struggles at this exact same time in 2023. The AJC’s Mark Bradley points out one clear difference between this year and last is the significant drop in home runs for Atlanta’s offense. The AJC’s Gabe Burns also looks at how the Braves can get back on track with a return home. Chris Sale is prepared to be a bit more amped up facing his former team. Pitching Prospect Jhancarlos Lara made his season debut this weekend down on the farm. Braves Podcasts The guys at Peach State Prospects introduced their top 30 Braves prospects. Be on the lookout for further content on their list in the coming days. Scott Coleman of Battery Power and the new Hammer Territory Podcast was on the Foul Territory Podcast discussing the Braves on Monday. MLB News Brandon Nimmo has provided quite the spark offensively in recent days, and played a big role in the Mets 4-3 win over the Cardinals. The Phillies have now won six straight games as they completed the sweep over the Giants on Monday. Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan will miss roughly four weeks due to a hamstring injury.

Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images Atlanta returns to Truist Park for a brief two-game series against the Boston Red Sox. The Atlanta Braves will return to Truist Park Tuesday and will be looking to rebound after a 1-5 road trip that did all sorts of damage to their spot in the standings and team stats. Atlanta enters Tuesday with a 20-12 record and are 2.5 games back of the Philadelphia Phillies pending the outcome of Philadelphia’s Thursday matchup against the Giants. Atlanta is trying to battle its way through an offensive funk of late, but showed some signs of turning things around. Ronald Acuña Jr. was 5-for-12 with a double and his second home run of the season in the three games in Los Angeles. Austin Riley also homered and was 3-for-12 in the three games. Matt Olson was just 2-for-18 with five walks and five strikeouts. His average has dropped below .200 at .197 but continues to hit the ball hard and his expected stats show a turnaround is likely. The Braves’ bullpen took a hit on the road trip when Pierce Johnson was placed on the 15-day Injured List with elbow inflammation. Atlanta selected the contract of Jackson Stephens and transferred Angel Perdomo to the 60-day injured list to fill the Johnson’s spot on the roster. Boston comes into the series with a 19-16 record, third place in the AL East and trailing the Baltimore Orioles by 4.5 games. The Red Sox snapped a three-game losing streak Sunday with a 9-2 win over the Minnesota Twins. Boston is 12-7 on the road this season, but just 7-13 against teams with a .500 or greater record. After missing the first month of the season with injury, Grissom made his Red Sox debut against the Twins last Friday and has just a double in eight plate appearances so far. Tuesday, May 7, 7:20 p.m. ET (Bally Sports South) Kutter Crawford (2024: 7 GS, 40.1 IP, 24.2 K%, 7.9 BB%, 1.56 ERA, 2.54 FIP) Right-hander Kutter Crawford will get the start for the Red Sox in the opener Tuesday. Fundamentally, if James Paxton didn’t cure the Braves’ offensive woes, Crawford really doesn’t look poised to, either. Crawford has gotten off to an outstanding start this season and will be looking to build on that in Tuesday’s game. He was charged with just two earned runs over his first five starts combined (33 1/3 innings). He’s allowed 14 hits and five runs in 13 innings over his last two starts including a seven-inning, two-run performance against the Giants last time out. Tuesday’s game will be Crawford’s first career appearance against the Braves. In something either too obvious to be anything but banal, or a brilliant case of nominative determinism (or perhaps both), Kutter Crawford’s main pitch is a... cutter. He pounds the zone with it, a good four-seamer, and a sweeper, while also busting out a splitter and curveball to keep guys honest. He’s around the zone enough that it’s been easy for him to get batters to expand, and he’s largely pitched like an ideal arm. If there’s one thing to be aware of, it’s that his HR/FB is pathetically low. But, he has barely allowed any hard contact all year. The Braves are still hitting the ball hard, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens when these two trends face off. Reynaldo Lopez (2024: 5 GS, 30.0 IP, 27.0 K%, 8.7 BB%, 1.50 ERA, 2.95 FIP) Reynaldo Lopez will look to continue his strong start to the season for the Braves in the opener Tuesday. Lopez struck out seven, but allowed three runs over five innings in his last start in Seattle. That was the first time he had pitched on normal rest all season and was the first time he had failed to go at least six innings. The three runs allowed were two more than he had allowed in any start this season. Lopez will be on six days of rest for his start Tuesday. Wednesday, May 8, 7:20 p.m. ET (Bally Sports South) TBD The Red Sox haven’t announced their starter for Tuesday but it is expected that they will activate Nick Pivetta from the Injured List in time to make the start. Pivetta has been sidelined since April 9 with a right elbow flexor strain. Before the injury, Pivetta made two starts where he had allowed one run over 11 innings, including a domination of the Mariners with a 10/0 K/BB ratio, and a much less impressive start against the Athletics (3/1 K/BB ratio). Chris Sale (2024: 6 GS, 36.2 IP, 29.0 K%, 4.8 BB%, 3.44 ERA, 3.01 FIP) Chris Sale will make his seventh start of the season for the Braves in Wednesday’s series finale and his first against his old team since last he was traded to Atlanta during the offseason. Sale struck out a season-high nine and allowed one run over five innings against the Mariners in Atlanta’s only win on their road trip.

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