Winning two of three from the Phillies and I’m not at any ease.

I fear Atlanta is getting lulled into a false sense of optimism, both that its hitters will come around and its pitching is good enough to cover if they don’t.

The pitching has been a pleasant surprise. As of Tuesday morning, Atlanta’s team ERA is second in Major League Baseball at 3.41, trailing only Philadelphia’s 3.26. The Braves lead baseball with 11 shutouts on the year and have given up the fewest long balls, two appealing stats.

Maybe it’s my inborn pessimism — Casey Stengel once quipped, “Most ballgames are lost, not won,” and I believe him. Maybe it’s a lifetime of being bitten by Atlanta sports teams when it mattered. Everything feels like a house of cards.

I didn’t think Chris Sale would make it this long into a season without his arm falling off. He hasn’t made more than 20 appearances in a year since 2019 and we’re getting close at 16. Still time.

Reynaldo Lopez is at his most innings since 2019 already. That’s even with him working on average less than six innings per start. His first half feels like Bryce Elder’s from in 2023, right down to the All-Star selection and we know badly Elder fell off in the second half. Elder hasn’t exactly gotten it together since, either.

Charlie Morton might turn into dust at any second. Like Lopez, he’s not going deep into games, only twice has he pitched seven frames in 2024.

Max Fried is Max Fried fortunately. Spencer Schwellenbach has arguably been the best adjusted out of any Braves pitching prospect in a few years.

But what if any of this goes bad? Elder was only up Monday to give Sale more rest. Hurston Waldrep has that nasty splitter, but, bless ‘im, he’s not ready yet. The Texas Rangers are apparently ready to start selling off their pitching, but no doubt at luxury prices.

Besides, the real problem is the hitting.

Michael Harris II can’t get back soon enough. Jarred Kelenic is working miracles in the outfield, but the rest of the crew is more feeble than the back end of a last place Little League lineup.

Sure, Adam Duvall is hitting OK for July, but also has an 0-12 stretch in the same timeframe. He’s also only a few days removed from a .136 June. The rest of the rotating cast of outfielders has actually hit better than Duvall, Eli White, J.P. Martinez, Forrest Wall and Ramon Laureano going 20-for-85. Had Duvall actually been hitting, oh somewhere near the Mendoza line, the turnstile at the other outfield spot would be fine. He’s not, which makes their contributions seem even worse.

White homered Sunday, but he doesn’t seem a permanent addition to the lineup. Unfortunately, the Braves have one more man to try. If you missed the news, Eddie Rosario was let go by the Nationals. Atlanta’s loyalty to former players is much like the call of the mythological sirens, so of course they signed him and of course he’s immediately on the big league roster.

Rosario’s song has not exactly been melodious in recent seasons. Last year was his most decent since his 2021 stretch run with the Braves, but not good enough to bring him back for 2024. This year’s numbers are worse, though perhaps overall better than his horrendous 2022 by a hair.

That’s not even getting into the infield’s inconsistency. Ozzie Albies has looked better recently, but Austin Riley and Matt Olson are struggling. Orlando Arcia is beyond redemption, I think, but he’s going to stay out there because the backup is Zach Short.

Sean Murphy hit a massive homer Monday to send it to extras, but every time he’s seem to come around, he hasn’t. Travis d’Arnaud has been a struggle to watch, too.

Marcell Ozuna is the team’s first half offensive MVP and more than deserving of his All-Star bid. However, his numbers dropped each month from April to June and July has not started swimmingly.

There is still time for Alex Anthopolous to make deals, but with the way the team keeps doing OK, he may deem the patch job to be enough.

I should be positive. The Braves are contending and by golly should be able to slide into at least a Wild Card spot. It’s going to be at the cost of my sanity, but after a lifetime of Atlanta sports, there wasn’t much sanity left.