The Braves lost Game 2 of the series against the Diamondbacks by a run after loading the bases twice and failing to score. They lost the finale, 11-10, on Thursday after their relievers gave up seven runs in the ninth inning. The three-game sweep makes 11 losses in the past 14 games for the Braves.
I’ve said before that of the bad teams I’ve covered, all had one thing in common. They’d manage to fix one thing, only to see another thing go wrong. That pattern continues until everyone finally realizes the team is no good.
I’ve now reached that point with the Braves (27-34).
They are a bad team. Even if I end up being wrong about that, they surely aren’t good enough to overcome their 0-7 start to make the playoffs. I’m guessing I’d get agreement on that from the many of the Braves fans who booed their team off the field on Thursday.
The Braves earned the jeers. The last time they lost a game when leading by at least six runs after eight innings: July 17, 1973, against the Mets at Atlanta Stadium. Since then, the Braves had won 766 straight games when leading by at least six runs after eight innings.
Manager Brian Snitker said it was a “horrible loss” that would make the Braves “miserable” for their postgame flight to San Francisco. He dismissed the notion that they’d quickly get over it because “it’s hard to flush one like this, quite honestly.” Snitker said he hopes some of his players will show leadership “because that’s where it comes from, internally with the players.”
“They do that on good teams,” Snitker said. “We are a good team. We are not a bad team. We are a good team that’s playing bad right now. We can’t execute, we can’t finish a game, and we’ve got to do better. I’ve got to do better, the coaches have got to do better, and the players have got to do better, quiet honestly.
“We have a group that can do that. It can rally and get this thing turned around. I’ve seen it before. I’ve seen this group do it, and we will.”
I don’t see that happening. Most of the names are the same for the Braves from when they were winners, but now those players are contributing to the losses. The list includes reliever Raisel Iglesias. He was one of baseball’s best closers in 2023 and 2024. Now he’s one of the worst.
Iglesias inherited one baserunner from Scott Blewett when he entered the game with the Braves leading, 10-7. Iglesias allowed that run to score plus three more on four hits and a walk. The outing left Iglesias with a 6.75 ERA and four blown saves in 12 chances.
Snitker said removing Iglesias as closer was “definitely an option.” Then the Braves announced they were calling up Craig Kimbrel from Triple-A Gwinnett. Once again, the Braves are so desperate that they’re recycling old names from their past glory days. Kimbrel isn’t going to fix a team that’s become so broken that lately even a historically awful team looks OK in comparison.
The Rockies (12-50) are on track to finish with one of the worst records in MLB history. They’ve been just a half-game worse than the Braves since May 18 (4-12 vs. 3-11). The Rockies swept the Marlins this week to end their streak of consecutive series lost at 22. The Braves have lost five straight series — and counting.
You can argue the Braves aren’t really that bad because they’ve been outscored by just five runs while losing 11 of their last 14 games. But run differential doesn’t matter in the standings. The bottom line is we’re nearly a week into June, and there are more teams ahead of the Braves than behind them in the NL wild-card standings.
In the doldrums
Marcell Ozuna is one of the veteran players Snitker is counting on to show leadership. What can the Braves can do to turn things around?
“We’re going to be good because we are going to have fun and enjoy the game,” Ozuna said. “Right now, we just look like we enjoy the game. Even when we score 10 runs, we feel kind of shaky a little bit and (then) you see what happens.”
What happened confirmed that Braves players were right to be wary, even with a six-run lead in the ninth inning at home. After suffering that awful loss, the Braves hit road to play two NL teams they need to catch. A bad trip at San Francisco and Milwaukee would essentially finish them in the wild-card race by the time they return home to face the Rockies on June 13.
The Giants haven’t been much better than the Braves lately (6-8 from May 18 through Wednesday). The same thing could be said of the Diamondbacks, who came to town with losses in nine of 11 games. While the Braves were losing 10 of 13 games, the Brewers were winning 11 of 15. Milwaukee swept the Red Sox before the Braves lost two of three to Boston. The Brewers swept the Phillies in Philadelphia after the Braves lost two of three games there.
Before Thursday’s games, the main statistical projection at FanGraphs calculated that the Braves have a 40% chance to make the playoffs. That’s down from 70% on May 18. As the Braves keep losing, results begin to become more important than potential in the FanGraphs formula. Its projection is catching up with what our eyes can see.
The Braves keep insisting that their good hitters eventually will start hitting consistently. That’s yet to happen. When they do manage to score enough runs, the bullpen too often lets them down.
Good starting pitching is the only thing the Braves have been able to count on. That isn’t nearly enough for them to produce the winning surge they’ll need to become the first 0-7 team to qualify for the postseason.
The Braves say they are a good team playing badly. I used to believe that. Now I’ve seen enough to say the Braves are exactly what they appear to be — a bad team.
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