Yasiel Puig blasted a pitch from Luke Jackson off the left-field scoreboard. Boos rained down and energy was sapped out of SunTrust Park in route to another loss.
With their 5-1 win Saturday, the Dodgers are cherry-topping a dreadful month for the Braves, one that may be looked back on as a turning point of an otherwise pleasant surprise of a season.
The Braves have won just five of their last 18 games, and it’s fair to wonder if they’ve regressed to the mean, or if they’re simply enduring the rough stretch that eventually bites every contender.
“I wish I had the magic answer to make it happen,” manager Brian Snitker said. “But I don’t. That’s why you have to keep playing and grinding. And one day it will (turn).”
It started before the All-Star break, when they dropped eight of 11. They broke even on the ensuing four-game road trip.
Then they came home, where the sellout crowds have returned, but the winning hasn’t.
Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw and Alex Wood – a trio of Dodgers lefties – have enlarged the Braves’ offensive woes. They’ve lost four in a row, scoring only seven runs in that span.
Wood was the latest to suffocate their bats. The Dodgers, perhaps the National League’s best measuring stick, defeated the Braves for the third time in three nights. They again did so without much resistance.
“We’ve faced some pretty good pitching,” Snitker said. “But it’s the major leagues. That’s a nightly thing. Guys start trying too much, everyone wants to be the guy to get us off the mat instead of being nice and relaxed.”
The Braves have until 4 p.m. Tuesday to acquire external help (the August waiver method notwithstanding). And their performance over the past few weeks can be viewed one of two ways: a plea for help, or a reason to sit tight.
Despite July’s misfortunes, these Braves are ahead of schedule and should be proud of where they sit. They’re en route to becoming a lasting contender, even if 2018 doesn’t bring a postseason berth. They’re still well over .500, in the thick of the NL East and wild-card races, so it’s not as though the month has spiraled them back into the depths.
But they’ve lost 10 of 14 at SunTrust Park. Their mid-season performance has illuminated reality: They could use another starter (with multiple seasons of contractual control a criteria), a couple bullpen arms and a bench bat.
That’s a lengthy shopping list for general manager Alex Anthopoulos, especially with just two days until Christmas.
Saturday was a microcosm of the offense’s disappearing act. They had one hit through six innings. Freddie Freeman reaching on an error and Nick Markakis walking forced Wood out of the game, but Tyler Flowers struck out to end the sixth.
Johan Camargo homered in the seventh to put the Braves on the board, but their three-hit effort simply wasn’t enough. In their four-game skid, they’ve hit .175 with 33 strikeouts against nine walks.
“That’s just how it goes,” Camargo said through team interpreter Franco Garcia. “Right now, other teams are hitting their strides. But we’ll have our time as well and I think we’ll get going too.”
Max Fried held the Dodgers to a run over five innings. He was lifted at 87 pitches for Jackson, giving way to a bullpen that held the Dodgers scoreless in four innings the night before.
Puig homered. The Dodgers added another pair of runs off struggling lefty Sam Freeman in the ninth.
The sky isn’t falling. It’s the Braves’ first extended slump of the year, and there’s plenty of baseball left. But it’s going to take a true group effort to right the ship.
“We’re not playing good baseball, but we’re right there,” Snitker said. “We’re a nice little winning streak away from getting back in first place.”
So as Sean Newcomb and the Braves take the field trying to dodge a sweep Sunday, the front office will understandably ponder its role in salvaging the season – and what such a move might cost.
