Braves’ offense misses tons of chances in loss to Angels

Another day without answers for it all.

On Friday at Angel Stadium, the Braves had tons of opportunities, but lost to the Angels, 3-2. After winning three in a row, they’ve dropped consecutive games.

Five observations:

1. Pierce Johnson entered a tie game in the bottom of the sixth inning. He inherited runners on first and second with no outs, a tall task for any reliever.

He struck out the first batter.

The second, Mickey Moniak, smoked a run-scoring double off the wall in right-center field. The Angels took the lead – an advantage they could’ve extended had it not been for Austin Riley’s diving stop and throw to first for the third out on what would’ve been a two-run double had he not made the play.

In that situation, Johnson did his job. He stepped into a difficult spot, and he kept the game within striking distance.

The issue, as it has been for most of this season: The Braves’ pitchers didn’t have any margin for error.

“We had a lot of opportunities,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “Just couldn’t get a hit. We could’ve scored a lot of runs in that game, we just couldn’t get a big hit.”

2. This much has become clear this season: The Braves don’t know why they’ve struggled with runners in scoring position this season.

“I mean, I don’t have an answer for you,” catcher Sean Murphy said. “It’s frustrating. Obviously, all of us want to knock in runs and we didn’t. So, come back tomorrow and knock ‘em in tomorrow.”

Entering Friday, Atlanta ranked 20th with a .249 team batting average with runners in scoring position and 21st with a .725 OPS in those spots. They were 23rd in RBIs in these situations (336).

On Friday, the Braves went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position. They left 11 men on base.

Is it just guys trying to do too much?

“I guess,” Snitker said. “I don’t know.”

He paused as he tried to think about what to say next.

Then he added: “I don’t know. I wish I had the answer.”

The Braves’ leadoff man reached in six of nine innings, including five in a row from the second through the sixth. The Braves built momentum, but couldn’t cash in with a big hit.

Are guys simply trying to do too much?

“Probably,” Murphy said. “We gotta get those hits, we didn’t tonight.”

This game followed a familiar script. The pitchers kept the club in the game. The offense squandered opportunities.

In the fifth inning, the Braves loaded the bases with one out – and got nothing. In the sixth, after the leadoff man reached, a double play erased him. The Braves had two on with two outs in the seventh, but failed to score.

In the eighth, they put two on base and forced Angels manager Ron Washington – their former third base coach – to go to hard-throwing Ben Joyce with one out. He got the first batter he faced, Whit Merrifield, to ground into an inning-ending double play.

“It’s about big hits, two-out hits,” Snitker said. “Just having a hard time coming through with it.”

3. One pitch.

And not even a bad one.

Spencer Schwellenbach pitched well, but again, he worked with a thin margin for error because his offense couldn’t come through when necessary. So in the fourth inning, the Angels tied the game with one swing.

Logan O’Hoppe hammered a curveball for a two-run homer. The tough part for Schwellenbach: It came on a curveball at the bottom of the zone. He didn’t hang it. It easily could’ve been a grounder if he threw it in another situation.

“Yeah, I mean, it was working really well for me, up until that point,” Schwellenbach said of his curveball. “I threw it right at his knees and he just put a good swing on it. I think they were sitting on that pitch at that point. I just gotta tip my cap.”

Otherwise, Schwellenbach was great – again. He was charged with three runs over five innings. He struck out eight and didn’t have a walk until issuing walks to the final two batters he faced.

In the ninth, Joyce, with the help of his 100-plus mph four-seam fastball, closed the game. Marcell Ozuna hit a two-out single, but Matt Olson grounded out to end it.

4. Jorge Soler, who could’ve helped, was out due to his mild left hamstring strain – as expected. Based on Braves manager Brian Snitker’s pregame comments, it doesn’t seem like Soler will play at all this weekend.

The Braves, Snitker said, plan to work out Soler on Saturday. They’ll have him run a bit – though it won’t be at full speed.

Does Atlanta feel like it dodged a bullet with Soler because the strain was mild?

“I don’t know – yet,” Snitker said. “I think it’s still early to – because those things are so funny, man. We talk about hamstrings, obliques. It’s really good right but it’s gonna have to be really good before we turn him loose again. Literally, it’s day to day, and getting his treatment. It’s kind of good news that he feels good, strong when they do all the tests, but he’s a ways away from turning him loose and coming out of the box and stuff like that.”

This weekend, Ronald Acuña Jr. is with the Braves. He’s been rehabbing in Los Angeles, so he joined the team here. He is, of course, out for the season – another brutal example of how much Atlanta has dealt with this season.

5. Before Friday’s game, Washington and Eric Young Sr. – the Braves’ former first base coach who is now Washington’s third base coach here – chatted with former colleagues on the field. No doubt, Washington and Young were a huge part of Atlanta’s success.

In a conversation with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution before the game, Washington said he believes the Braves will make the postseason.

But the Braves can make it easier on themselves if they get on a nice roll.

Another reason this loss stung: The Diamondbacks and Padres, the two teams ahead of the Braves in the National League wild-card picture, lost. The Braves could’ve gained a game on both.

Instead, Atlanta is 4 1/2 games behind the Diamondbacks (top wild-card seed) and Padres (second seed). The Phillies won to push the Braves to eight games out.

“This time of year, we need to win games,” Snitker said. “This is the time of year when you gotta win. You have to figure out a way to make it happen. Because they’re big, all of them. All of the losses are big, the wins are big. This is what it’s all about – playing to get in the playoffs.”

Stat to know

32-32 - The Braves are 32-32 on the road this season. Before this loss, they had been the National League’s top road club since the start of last season, having gone 84-60 away from Truist Park in that span.

Quotable

“We’re not worried about those guys. We can’t control what they do, so we’re worried about us. Didn’t even realize they lost tonight.” - Murphy on the Braves losing when the teams ahead of them also lost

Up next

The Braves will send left-hander Chris Sale to the hill on Saturday. Right-hander Griffin Canning will start for the Angels. First pitch is at 9:38 p.m.