Braves swept by Brewers as spiral continues
Credit: AP
The Braves came within one run of salving their series against the Brewers — baseball’s best team — on Wednesday night but ultimately fell 5-4 at Truist Park.
The series demonstrated why the Brewers hold the best record in MLB (70-44), while the Braves (47-66) stand above only the Nationals, White Sox and Rockies — fundamentals.
“They are a very good baseball team,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “They fight balls off. Their approach is really, really tough. You’ve got to make pitches on them.”
Take each team’s offensive performance in this series, for example. The Braves recorded only six less hits than the Brewers — and matched their hit total in each of the first two games — but Milwaukee more than doubled their offensive output, scoring 15 runs to the Braves’ seven.
And the discrepancy is reflected within each team’s performance when runners were in scoring position. The Braves finished the three-game set 3-for-18 (.167) in those situations, while the Brewers shined with an 8-for-22 (.363) performance.
“That’s one of those things that you wish it was that simple,” Snitker said during the series. “We’ve been struggling with that all year, pretty much, and for a long time.”
The Braves’ struggles with runners in scoring position are well-documented this season, but there is no obvious solution. Snitker already tried shuffling the lineup — batting Eli White in the leadoff spot for just the third time this year — and it is challenging to overhaul an offensive philosophy during the season.
But no matter how the lineup is ordered, the Braves struggle to capitalize on their opportunities, hitting .233 with runners in scoring position since May of 2024, the third-lowest average in baseball.
And the Brewers excel in that department.
“They’re a really good baseball team,” starting pitcher Spencer Strider said. “(The Brewers) hit a lot of executed pitches and seem to have a really good plan at the plate. And they did, all series.”
Strider had one of his worst outings of the season, surrendering a career-high 11 hits in 4 ⅔ innings. But the offense provided little run support. The Braves scored four runs on eight hits, with two coming on two-out home runs from Jurickson Profar and Michael Harris II.
Harris marks one bright spot for the Braves, as he appears to be out of a dreadful slump that saw him hit .148 in June. The 24-year-old is batting an even .300 over his last seven games with a .371 mark over his last 15.
He made an adjustment in his batting stance, raising his hands closer to where they were during his sensational — a .297 batting average with 19 home runs — rookie season.
“I was trying to get them in a better spot to get up higher, but even when I thought I was doing that, I wasn’t,” Harris told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “The easiest thing to do (was) to go back to what I was doing my whole life.”
But four runs were not enough to overcome the Brewers, and the Braves dropped yet another one-run game, where they hold a 14-28 record this season.
The club will welcome the Marlins, who are 6-4 in their last 10 games and nine games ahead of the Braves in the National League East standings, to Truist Park on Thursday at 7:15 p.m. Carlos Carrasco will take the mound opposite of Miami’s Eury Pérez, as the teams play the first of a five-game series.
About the Author
Olivia Sayer joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in May 2025 as an intern on the sports beat. She is earning a degree in journalism from the University of Georgia with a minor in sport management and a sports media certificate. Olivia previously held the titles of digital and assistant sports editor at The Red & Black.
