The Braves suffered a tough defeat for the second consecutive night, blowing a late lead and losing 5-3 to the Marlins in extra innings Monday at Truist Park. The Braves fell to 4-6 on the season.
Here are five takeaways from Monday:
1. The Braves’ bullpen needed to protect a lead for three innings after starter Huascar Ynoa’s stellar start. That didn’t happen.
The eighth inning was almost disastrous for the Braves. A.J. Minter and Nate Jones combined to walk five Marlins and gave up one hit, a double, in the inning. The Braves were lucky to come out of the inning with a 3-3 tie rather than a deficit.
They ultimately lost in the 10th inning, when Jacob Webb surrendered two runs (one was the automatic runner at second) on three hits. The Braves have played in a lot of close games early on, and especially with Chris Martin sidelined, the bullpen has frequently been operating in higher-leverage circumstances.
“The fact we play that same game every day, the one-run game,” manager Brian Snitker said. “It forces you to use guys, identify guys. Luke (Jackson) did a really good job today (pitching a scoreless inning). If we’re going to keep playing that game, which we do, we’re never out of the game. It seems like it’s the same game every night, and that’s not a bad thing. There’s going to be some days today when guys are off a little bit. That’s the world of baseball.”
The Braves dropped to 2-2 when leading after seven innings this season. They were 23-0 under such circumstances last year.
Credit: Hyosub Shin/hshin@ajc.com
Credit: Hyosub Shin/hshin@ajc.com
2. Ynoa is the Braves’ fifth starter for the immediate future, and he proved why again Monday. The right-hander followed the best start of his career with another gem: Ynoa allowed one run over six innings. He struck out 10 Marlins – the first double-digit strikeout game of his career – and walked one.
“It’s been my mentality as far as attacking hitters,” Ynoa said of his increased strikeout totals, via team interpreter Franco Garcia. “As soon as I go up in the count, obviously I have that advantage and I can put them away. When I’m behind in the count, it’s more of a challenge. So attacking the hitters is what I would attest that to.”
Ynoa touched triple digits with his fastball, which hovered in the high-90s. His slider was crisp, helping him pile up 14 swings and misses. His only mistake came against former Braves slugger Adam Duvall, who homered in his first at-bat back at Truist Park. Ynoa threw 82 pitches, and Snitker said in his next start he could probably threw 100 pitches.
“I thought he was outstanding again,” Snitker said. “He was really strong. I can’t say enough about him. The way he goes about it, the way he reached back for extra and it was there. Breaking ball was really good. It was solid. He was really, really good.”
Over his past two outings, Ynoa has allowed one run on five hits, struck out 15 and walked two in 11 innings. He’ll make his next start this weekend in Chicago, and if he pitches as he has the past two appearances, he’ll have plenty more starts to make.
3. The Braves had four hits and went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. They left the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth. No Brave recorded a multi-hit effort. The offensive inconsistency continues, with Ronald Acuna the lone reliable performer through 10 games.
“We’re still grinding along here, trying to get the offensive thing going,” Snitker said. “And it’s going to. These guys have done it before. It’s rough when you’re going through it, trying to get them going, but this thing will get off the ground here, start clicking and be fun to watch again.”
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
4. One reason damage was limited in the eighth: A review went the Braves’ way. Jon Berti attempted to steal second base. Catcher Alex Jackson’s throw made it a bang-bang play. Berti was initially called safe, leading the Braves to challenge the play.
While it was tough to see – many opined Berti was safe – the call was overturned and Berti was ruled out. Marlins manager Don Mattingly was ejected arguing the call. The Braves will take the good fortune after Sunday’s mess.
5. Acuna continued stuffing the stat sheet. He had walked, tripled, stolen a base and scored two runs by the fourth inning. Acuna scored one of those runs on a sacrifice fly to second base. His speed on the bases has been a big factor so far.
Acuna also drew a walk with two on in the bottom of the ninth, but Ozzie Albies couldn’t convert on the bases-loaded opportunity. Acuna finished 1-for-2 with three walks.
Stat of the game
22 years, 319 days (Ynoa was 22 years and 319 days old when he took the mound Monday, making him the youngest Braves pitcher to strike out 10 hitters in a game since Julio Teheran in 2013)
Quotable
“If you handle tough situations, there’s good on the other end of them. Always.” – Snitker on the team’s early offensive struggles
Attendance
11,830. Monday’s game was the least-attended contest since Truist Park reopened to fans April 9.
Atlanta’s favorite Panda
Pablo Sandoval is already adored by Braves fanatics. He received perhaps the loudest applause of the night when he entered as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning. Sandoval drew a 10-pitch walk that ended Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara’s night.
Up next
Max Fried will make his third start Tuesday against Pablo Lopez and the Marlins. Fried last faced the Marlins in Game 1 of the National League Division Series last October, when he allowed four runs in four innings.
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