Turner Field, 13 minutes before gametime. Pennant fever! (M. Bradley)

Credit: Mark Bradley

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Credit: Mark Bradley

The Atlanta Braves had three hits Tuesday, one night after they'd managed none. They actually had 11 on Sunday, which enabled them to score one run. That run -- a second-inning homer by Evan Gattis -- remains the Braves' only one in 37 innings.

They've been shut out three times in four games. Over that span, they're 1-for-23 with runners in scoring position. (And the one hit -- a Jason Heyward infield single Saturday night -- didn't result in a run.) Over those four games, the Braves are hitting .044 with RISP. Fun fact: The Braves were actually 0-for-6 with RISP on a day they got no-hit.

Today the Braves will try again, and this is the lineup they've dispatched in the attempt to score against the Phillies: Heyward, RF; Simmons, SS; Freeman, 1B; Doumit, LF; La Stella, 2B; Johnson, 3B; Bethancourt, C; B.J. Upton, CF; Santana, P. Three of these own batting averages under .207 -- Bossman Jr., the pitcher and -- pause for effect -- the cleanup-hitting Ryan Doumit, who's at .191.

That said, there's another average working works in the Braves' favor -- the ol' law of averages. They can't not score forever, can they? Well, can they?

Update: No, they can't. The slugging Doumit touched off a three-run rally in the second that was capped by a Bossman Jr. homer. Fredi Gonzalez, genius.

Further update: Doumit's single has been changed to an error on Chase Utley. All three Braves runs were unearned. Which doesn't mean they don't count.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. (center) is flanked by GOP whip Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. (left) and Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, as Thune speak to reporters at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. Earlier Tuesday, the Senate passed the budget reconciliation package of President Donald Trump's signature bill of big tax breaks and spending cuts. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

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