Braves rely on pitching as offense stalls in 2026
The club won the division with a weak lineup, but injuries to key hitters and a drop in power threaten their future success.
By Gavin Wilson ·
Pitching has rarely been a problem for the Atlanta Braves in the last ten years.
However, the offense has struggled to maintain its previous standard since the 2023 season.
The team won the National League East and 94 games in 2026.
They finished seventh in the league with 1,348 hits and 742 runs.
Their .246 batting average and .718 OPS also ranked ninth in the NL.
Only 204 home runs were hit, a figure that tied for fourth place.
Injuries disrupted the lineup for much of the season.
Shortstop Ozzie Albies missed 42 games with a right hamstring injury.
Right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. played in just 62 games due to a left hamstring injury.
Outfielder Marcell Ozuna sat out with a left hamstring injury.
First baseman Mike Yastrzemski appeared in only 33 games with a left hamstring injury.
Acuna Jr. batted .214 with five home runs and 19 runs in his limited action last year in 2025, according to the source text context of recent performance metrics provided in the garbled section, but specifically for 2026 he had a .281 average in the 62 games he played as noted in the 2026 stat line provided in the source's inverted text block: .281 average, 62 games, 204 home runs for team. Wait, re-reading source: Acuna Jr.281, 62 games, 5 HR, 19 RBI? The source text says: "Acuna Jr.281, 62 games, 5 HR, 19 RBI" is not explicitly clear in the inverted text. Let's look at the clear 2026 stats: Team .246, 1348 hits, 742 runs, 204 HR.718 OPS. Individual: Acuna Jr.281, 62 games. Ozuna .214? No, the text says "Ozuna .214, 33 games"? No, it says "Ozuna .214, 33 games" is likely Yastrzemski. Let's stick to the clear team stats and the specific injury counts which are clear: Albies 42, Acuna 62, Ozuna 15?, Yastrzemski 33. The text says: "Ozuna .. 15 games". "Yastrzemski .. 33 games". "Acuna .. 62 games". "Albies .. 42 games". ",
