Most teams across most professional sports enjoy a profound advantage when playing at their own venue in front of their own fans.  With that being said, the opposite is true as well.  Playing on the road usually presents a problem for teams, especially in baseball.  Most coaches would consider it a successful road trip to come home with an even record.  The Atlanta Braves are just on the cusp of accomplishing that goal so far.  The team comes into play this week with an 18-20 split away from Turner Field. 

However, the Braves struggled immensely on their most recent West Coast road trip, returning with a 2-5 mark which included a series split with the Los Angeles Dodgers and a series sweep by the surging San Diego Padres.  So, should the Braves be concerned about their struggles on the road? 

I don’t think so.  Their 18-20 road record, although below .500, is still the best mark in the National League East; a division which the Braves lead by 6.5 games.  The road trip they just returned from might cause concern for some fans, but looking beyond the wins and losses, the Braves were only outscored 24 to 22 over those seven games.  Obviously the Braves would like to have a road record like the St. Louis Cardinals (25-13), but they take comfort in knowing that after every road trip, there comes a home stand.   

Turner Field is where the Braves excel.  The team boasts a 23-8 record in Atlanta, which ranks best in baseball by percentage.  If they could play every game at home, the Braves would be golden; but since they can’t, they definitely need to improve on the road if they want to remain in first place in the NL East for the rest of the season. 

Aside from their struggles on the road, the Braves need to start finding ways to score runs in ways other than by home runs.  They are tied for the National League lead in home runs with 91 (Colorado Rockies), and lead all major league teams with a home run every 25.3 at-bats.  However, they also lead the National League in strikeouts with 615, which is a staggering 41 more whiffs than the next closest club (Pittsburgh Pirates).  Living and dying by the home run may be working in the first half of the season, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see many pitchers tighten up in the second half of the season and make the Braves play more sound, fundamental offensive baseball. 

In my opinion, the Atlanta Braves shouldn’t be worried about their last ten games.  Yes, they are 4-6 over that span, but they are 9-6 in their last 15 games.  They are playing well enough to stay comfortably ahead of the Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies, both of whom are struggling as much, if not more than the Braves.