Braves can’t complete sweep, blanked by Cubs in finale

Consider Thursday a blip on the radar for the rolling Braves.

They couldn’t muster any offense to support their ace Chris Sale, dropping the series finale against the Cubs 2-0 at Truist Park. Still, the Braves won the series and went 4-2 over six games against the Dodgers and Cubs, their peers atop the National League’s hierarchy.

A choir of Cubs pitchers – Ben Brown, Hoby Milner, Phil Maton, Jacob Webb and Daniel Palencia – held the Braves to five hits over nine frames. The Braves had produced 23 runs over their past four games, so they’ll give Chicago its due credit.

Sale was again brilliant, surrendering one unearned run on five hits over six innings. He struck out eight and walked two, lowering his season ERA to 1.96. The run was unearned because of Ha-Seong Kim’s throwing error that allowed Ian Happ to advance to third and score on a grounder. Happ added further insurance with a homer off Reynaldo Lopez in the eighth.

Kim’s error was a result of haste. He appeared unbalanced fielding the ball, then rushed to deliver a high flip to second baseman Ozzie Albies that skied above him and rolled into the right-outfield grass.

This was Kim’s first series of the season after a finger injury had sidelined him, so perhaps part of his miscue could be attributed to rust.

The Braves begin a three-game series against the Red Sox on Friday. It’s part of MLB Rivalry Weekend, a nod to the Braves’ past in Boston from 1871 to 1952.