NEW YORK — The Atlanta Braves have won the National League East Division often enough to know the regular season is more marathon than sprint, and manager Brian Snitker is well aware that rough patches occur even on the road to great success.
So a run of six losses in eight games that included being swept at Dodger Stadium last weekend wasn’t enough to incite a panic in their clubhouse — and neither was the slow start for some of the biggest bats in their lineup.
Ronald Acuña Jr. hit a titanic home run, just before Ozzie Albies and Matt Olson also went deep in the third inning, and the Braves beat the New York Mets 4-2 on Friday night.
Charlie Morton (3-0) pitched seven splendid innings as the NL East rivals played through raindrops in a game delayed 55 minutes at the start. The Braves, off Monday after losing three games in a row to the Los Angeles Dodgers, won a two-game set against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday and Wednesday in Atlanta before getting another day off Thursday.
“We’re not even close to hitting on all cylinders yet,” Snitker said of the six-time reigning division champions.