It’s too early to declare a sea change, but so far the Braves have been able to turn around their fortunes in an area of major weakness in 2014. Hitting with runners in scoring position.
The team entered Tuesday ranked third in the majors with a National League-leading .357 average (20-for-56) with runners in scoring position, after finishing the 2014 season with a .236 average that was the third-worst in he majors.
The early improvement could be attributed to several factors, including personnel changes – addition of contact hitters like Nick Markakis and Alberto Callaspo, subtraction of free swingers – and the approach taught by new Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, who preaches the gospel of putting the ball in play, hitting it up the middle.