Braves Report: Yikes, Part 89

Good gracious, y’all.

A couple extra All-Stars is nice and everything.

But Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the Orioles completed a weekend sweep and pushed the Braves to 11 games under .500 — their worst record since the end of the 2017 season.

THE SERIES AHEAD

Are you strong enough to watch this team play the Athletics at a minor league stadium in Sacramento? Into the wee hours of the morning?

You have about 32 hours to decide.

📺 How to watch: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday games start at 10:05, 10:05 and 9:05 p.m., respectively. All on FanDuel Sports.

⚾ The probable starters: In chronological order …

📝 The scouting report: More on all this (plus that minor league ballpark) tomorrow, but the Athletics are 37-55 on the season. Which makes them one of just five teams in baseball with a worse record than your Atlanta Braves.

A-TOWN DOWN

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez/AJC

What to say that hasn’t already been said?

The Braves are lost and there’s no sign they’ll find their way again.

A few unpleasant stats:

📉 Atlanta is 2-8 in its last 10 games.

📉 It scored just 25 runs (third fewest in the majors) and was shut out three times in that span.

📉 Overall, the Braves were held scoreless in 76 of their last 89 innings.

📉 Sunday’s loss pushed them to 11-22 in one-run games this season. That’s the most such losses in the bigs.

As the AJC’s Olivia Sayer writes, there’s no clear fix for the offense or the ragtag rotation and the Braves are approaching white flag territory.

Other than that, things are going great.

ATTABOY, MATTY

Beloved former Brave Freddie Freeman will start at first base for the National League at next week’s All-Star game — and his return to Atlanta will surely be a major storyline.

But can we give Matthew Kent Olson some love, too?

The current Braves first baseman, Lilburn native and freshly minted All-Star reserve started the season slow at the plate. Over his last 30 games, though, he’s hitting .330 with a .995 OPS and 24 RBIs.

He also leads Atlanta with 17 home runs — and plays Gold Glove-level defense.

“Just speaks volumes to those three guys because we haven’t had the best first half,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Olson and fellow All-Stars Chris Sale and Ronald Acuña Jr.

“A lot of times, teams that do what we’re doing have one representative because they have to. We have three that deserved it.”

⭐ Want a closer look at All-Star rosters? Peep today’s edition of Sports Daily.

⭐ Home Run Derby update: Alonso, Schwarber say no thanks

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez/AJC

The Braves finally did the “rest Marcell Ozuna and play both catchers” thing on Sunday.

Drake Baldwin went 0-for-3 with a walk, but Sean Murphy had two hits — including a ninth-inning homer that earned him a sip from the Braves baseball cleat mug.

Fans can buy those filled with beer, but we’re going to assume Murph enjoyed a sports drink.

RIVAL WATCH

The Braves are 39-50 and in fourth place in the National League East. Let’s check in on the rest of the division anyway!

🔔 The Phillies (53-37) took a series from Cincinnati behind a complete game one-hitter from Smyrna native (and All-Star selection) Zack Wheeler.

🚽 The Mets (52-39) lost yesterday’s season finale with the Yankees, but had won four straight before that. Their stretch of dismal baseball may be over.

🎣 The Marlins (40-48) are winning slightly more than Braves are.

🪰 The Nationals (37-53) fired manager Dave Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo on Sunday — a week before the team makes the No. 1 pick in the MLB draft (right here in Atlanta). Good luck with that.

Thanks for reading Braves Report. Tell a friend — and maybe give the AJC’s Sports Daily newsletter a shot, too.

Until next time.