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The Braves walked into Saturday with the best record in baseball and a pitching staff doing most of the heavy lifting through May.
They walked out with a 2-0 loss to the Washington Nationals and one hit on the box score.
Atlanta sits at 36-17, still on top of the NL East by a healthy gap, while Washington jumped to 26-27 and set up a Sunday rubber match at Truist Park.
There was no defense from Walt Weiss afterward.
The Braves manager was honest about what happened against Nationals starter Jake Irvin and the bullpen behind him.
"Strange game," manager Walt Weiss said. "We just couldn't get anything going offensively, one hit. Just a tough day for the offense."
Michael Harris II got the only hit, a clean single to center field to lead off the seventh.
Irvin had already left after five hitless innings with an injury, and Brad Lord and Richard Lovelady combined to give up nothing the rest of the way.
Grant Holmes deserved better.
He struck out 10 over six innings and handed the offense a winnable game, but the bats never showed up to back him.
Atlanta is now 0-8 in games where Holmes strikes out 10 or more in a start.
Dylan Crews put Washington in front with a solo home run in the fourth, the Nationals tacked on another later, and that was the whole scoreline.
Atlanta's best chance came in the seventh after an overturned call put two runners on base, but Ozzie Albies popped out, Dominic Smith flied out, and Austin Riley struck out looking to end it.
Saturday was not a one-off.
Riley is in the middle of a 10-year, $212 million deal that has not looked like a bargain in a while.
He has been stuck in a slump that dropped him near .190 earlier in May, and he has called it frustrating in his own words.
Saturday gave him a couple more chances with traffic on the bases, and nothing came of it.
Albies has eight home runs already, but the production comes in bursts and then disappears, which puts more weight on Matt Olson and Drake Baldwin than a contending lineup should be carrying.
The pitching keeps covering for the offense.
Holmes was sharp again, the bullpen has been one of the steadiest in baseball, and the team ERA still ranks near the top of the National League.
The bats need to start pulling their weight before the schedule gets tougher.
The Braves have gotten Dominic Smith as a possible X-factor, and the Opening Day pitching staff clarity from the spring both flagged how thin the margin gets when the lineup goes quiet.
Sunday gives Atlanta another shot with Martín Pérez on the mound.
Weiss is hoping the lineup that walked off Saturday is not the one that shows back up.
Continue reading...
They walked out with a 2-0 loss to the Washington Nationals and one hit on the box score.
Atlanta sits at 36-17, still on top of the NL East by a healthy gap, while Washington jumped to 26-27 and set up a Sunday rubber match at Truist Park.
Weiss Reacts to the Quiet Bats
There was no defense from Walt Weiss afterward.
The Braves manager was honest about what happened against Nationals starter Jake Irvin and the bullpen behind him.
"Strange game," manager Walt Weiss said. "We just couldn't get anything going offensively, one hit. Just a tough day for the offense."
Michael Harris II got the only hit, a clean single to center field to lead off the seventh.
Irvin had already left after five hitless innings with an injury, and Brad Lord and Richard Lovelady combined to give up nothing the rest of the way.
Why the Offense Stalled
Grant Holmes deserved better.
He struck out 10 over six innings and handed the offense a winnable game, but the bats never showed up to back him.
Atlanta is now 0-8 in games where Holmes strikes out 10 or more in a start.
Dylan Crews put Washington in front with a solo home run in the fourth, the Nationals tacked on another later, and that was the whole scoreline.
Atlanta's best chance came in the seventh after an overturned call put two runners on base, but Ozzie Albies popped out, Dominic Smith flied out, and Austin Riley struck out looking to end it.
Weakest Parts of the Lineup So Far
Saturday was not a one-off.
Riley is in the middle of a 10-year, $212 million deal that has not looked like a bargain in a while.
He has been stuck in a slump that dropped him near .190 earlier in May, and he has called it frustrating in his own words.
Saturday gave him a couple more chances with traffic on the bases, and nothing came of it.
Albies has eight home runs already, but the production comes in bursts and then disappears, which puts more weight on Matt Olson and Drake Baldwin than a contending lineup should be carrying.
The pitching keeps covering for the offense.
Holmes was sharp again, the bullpen has been one of the steadiest in baseball, and the team ERA still ranks near the top of the National League.
The bats need to start pulling their weight before the schedule gets tougher.
The Braves have gotten Dominic Smith as a possible X-factor, and the Opening Day pitching staff clarity from the spring both flagged how thin the margin gets when the lineup goes quiet.
Sunday gives Atlanta another shot with Martín Pérez on the mound.
Weiss is hoping the lineup that walked off Saturday is not the one that shows back up.
Continue reading...
