MILWAUKEE – The Braves blew multiple leads and lost to the Brewers, 7-6, on Wednesday at American Family Field.
Here are five observations on the loss for Atlanta (17-21), which dropped two of three games here:
1. Where do you start with this one? It’s a doozy.
Let’s start with Kenley Jansen.
He had been unbeatable since his Braves debut. He had only allowed one run over his last 14 2/3 innings. Opponents had only collected three hits off Jansen in his previous 14 appearances. He had converted 26 consecutive save opportunities, which was the second-longest active streak in the majors.
So what does he do now?
“Just keep your head up,” Jansen said after the game.
He tipped his cap to Kolten Wong, who hit a ball that was above the zone for a triple that scored the tying run in the ninth.
“If it’s probably up a little bit more, he swings through it,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “And he put a good swing on it.”
2. After losses like this, everyone wants somewhere to place the blame.
In this one, the Braves lost multiple leads. These teams went back and forth.
In this game, you win and lose as a team. But there is something glaring from Wednesday: After a four-run third inning, the offense didn’t score until the sixth.
“We need to continue to add on in that game, is what you need to do,” Snitker said.
The Braves deserve credit for what they did versus reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes. They just couldn’t build on it.
Here’s where this really hurt: In extra innings, with the rule that puts a runner at second base to start each frame, visiting teams have a difficult time winning games if they don’t score multiple runs in the top half.
The Braves scored once in the 10th and once in the 11th, but couldn’t explode for more.
The Braves expect their offense to turn things around soon.
“You already see a lot better at-bats,” said Max Fried, who started Wednesday’s game. “This (Milwaukee) is a really good pitching staff. Every single guy that they’ve thrown out there has done really well.
“I think things are starting to click and you’re going to see a lot of guys start to take off here soon.”
3. The Braves are getting lots of experience in playing crazy games.
They are 4-4 in one-run contests. They are 0-2 in extra-innings contests.
How can they begin to swing these close games their way?
“I think just the execution,” Fried said. “I think it’s just putting the ball in a little bit better spot or moving the guy over – just the little things that might not get seen in a box score, but the stuff that helps you win games.”
Fried added: “We haven’t been playing up to our standards, but I think we keep taking a step in the right direction. When you’re able to do that, you’re going to see the ball start rolling soon.”
4. It’s time for the positives. They exist, even after a difficult loss like this.
- In two at-bats – Austin Riley’s three-run homer and Marcell Ozuna’s solo blast – the Braves scored more off Burnes than he had allowed all season.
- And they worked at-bats to get there. Matt Olson fell behind 1-2, but fought back – including fouling off two pitches in a row – to win an eight-pitch at-bat with a single. Riley got down 0-2 on two swinging strikes, but took three straight balls before fouling off a pitch. On the seventh pitch of the at-bat, he took a 95-mph cutter in the middle of the zone and hammered it 421 feet to left-center field. Ozuna went to the bottom of the zone to get a pitch and put it over the fence.
- Spencer Strider struck out the side in the seventh. Will Smith worked a scoreless eighth. Heck, even Jansen, who issued a leadoff walk, almost got out of the inning.
- The Braves pitched well in Milwaukee, where they allowed one run over the first two games.
- The defense was much, much better. Dansby Swanson starred in this area.
5. After Wednesday’s loss, the Braves are 0-3-2 in road series. They are 2-6 in series-deciding games.
And in day games, they are 4-10.
Stat to know
0 - The Braves have not won a road series in five tries thus far.
Quotable
“It’s baseball and it’s not going to just be perfect all the time. You have to fight through the times that aren’t, because if you do and you handle it, you allow yourself to get something going.” - Snitker after the loss
Up next
The Braves are off on Thursday, then begin a series in Miami on Friday. Right-hander Charlie Morton will face Marlins left-hander Trevor Rogers in the opener, which begins at 6:40 p.m.
