troublesome numbers
The Atlanta Braves strike out a lot — 947 times so far, fourth-most in the National League — and their worst offender is Austin Riley. The power-hitting third baseman out of DeSoto Central High has some good numbers — .260, 16 homers, 54 RBIs, 54 runs — but his punch-out number is problematic. He has struck out 127 times, tied for fifth-most in the NL, in 415 at-bats. He struck out four times — a proverbial Golden Sombrero — in the Braves’ 3-2 loss at Cincinnati on Friday night. The team whiffed 14 times. So many of the strikeouts seem to come in clutch situations. Yes, injuries have wreaked havoc with Atlanta’s pitching, but clutch hitting, making contact in key situations, also has been a season-long issue. They’ll sputter into today’s much-hyped Speedway Classic in Bristol, Tenn., with a 46-63 record, third-worst in the NL. They left eight runners on base Friday and went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Case in point: In the eighth inning, with runners at second and third, one out and Atlanta down 3-0, Riley struck out for the fourth time. That kind of thing has plagued the Braves all season. Five players have fanned 83 times or more. They simply don’t hit enough home runs — 117 — to overcome that. P.S. Adam Frazier, Mississippi State alum, hit his fourth homer of the year — first with Kansas City — and the feisty Royals belted four bombs all told in a 9-3 win over first-place Toronto. … Former Madison Central star Braden Montgomery hit his first Double-A homer for Birmingham in win against Rocket City. The recently promoted Montgomery, one of the Chicago White Sox’s top prospects, is batting .268 with 12 homers, 58 RBIs and 12 steals across three levels of the minors. … MSU product Dakota Jordan returned from the injured list and went 2-for-4 with two RBIs in a win by Low-Class A San Jose. The San Francisco prospect is hitting .304 with 10 homers, 72 RBIs and 27 steals. … Colton Ledbetter, ex-MSU standout, swiped his 28th bag for Double-A Montgomery. The Tampa Bay prospect is hitting .284 with five homers, 33 RBIs and 52 runs. … Christian MacLeod, a 25-year-old left-hander out of MSU, was promoted to Triple-A St. Paul by thinned-out Minnesota and allowed a lone unearned run in 3 2/3 innings in his debut. He has a 2.26 ERA in 16 games over three levels. … Worth noting: Cal Raleigh, the Seattle slugger, set the record for homers by a switch-hitting catcher with his 42nd on Thursday. The previous record of 41 was set by Jackson Mets alum Todd Hundley with the New York Mets in 1996.