Braves-turned-Padres Justin Upton, Melvin Upton Jr. and Craig Kimbrel got their first up-close look Monday at their old team and saw that those trades are working out fine for the Braves so far.
Cameron Maybin showed why he’s been an upgrade from Upton Jr., his predecessor in center field. Second baseman Jace Peterson is fitting in with the new small-ball approach. And ex-Cardinals pitcher Shelby Miller was dominating again.
The Braves’ bullpen sure could use Kimbrel, though.
Miller pitched seven strong innings and Maybin and Peterson helped give him a two-run lead, but Braves relief pitchers blew it again in the 5-3 loss in 11 innings.
Braves right-hander Cody Martin walked Justin Upton to lead off the 11th and Matt Kemp followed with an RBI double for a 4-3 Padres lead. Luis Avilan replaced Martin and gave up a run-scoring single to Alexi Amarista for the fourth run allowed in four innings by Braves relief pitchers.
Kimbrel retired the Braves in order in the bottom of the inning to preserve the victory. The Braves (27-30) have lost five of their last six games.
“Keep battling, keep your head up,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “We got 11 hits. We had a chance to win the game and we didn’t. But as far as the morale, I think our guys have shown they’re pretty good about coming out the next day and getting after it.”
In the eighth inning, the Padres (30-29) scored on Justin Upton’s ground out against Braves reliever Jim Johnson to cut the lead to 3-2. Closer Jason Grilli gave up a lead-off double to Yonder Alonso in the ninth, sailed a an attempted pick-off throw over shortstop Andrelton Simmons that allowed pinch runner Upton Jr. to move to third, then allowed Corey Spangenberg’s sacrifice fly for a 3-3 tie.
“Simmons doesn’t set a pick unless he knows he’s got the guy,” Grilli said. “I just made a bad throw.”
The bullpen blew leads in three of six losses on the West trip that ended on Wednesday. Braves relievers also couldn’t preserve a tie against the Pirates on Friday and blew a lead against them on Saturday.
The Braves entered Monday with the worst bullpen ERA in the NL and finished it with their 11th blown save in 28 opportunities. Martin (2-3) took the 12th loss by a Braves reliever this season.
“We’re confident,” Grilli said. “We’re working through some struggles. Nobody asks us questions when we’re going well. It’s easier to pinpoint the highs and lows – cross-section this, cross-section that, splits… . It’s really easy to do that. Tough game.”
The bullpen couldn’t finish after Miller’s strong start. He had his only bad outing of the season last week at the Diamondbacks, who chased him after he allowed six hits and four runs in 4 1/3 innings while walking six.
It was the only time this season Miller failed to pitch at least five innings and also the only time he’d allowed more than three runs. He was back to form against the Padres while scattering five hits and striking out six with one walk.
“I had lot more command of all my pitches today than I did last time, which is nice to not go out there walking guys,” Miller said.
Miller has been among the best pitchers in the NL. The Braves acquired him as part of a trade with the Cardinals for Jason Heyward in November, the first of what would be several major deals during the off season.
The Braves traded Kimbrel and Upton Jr. to the Padres on the eve of opening day and got Maybin and prospects in return. They had sent Justin Upton to the Padres in December for a package of prospects that included Peterson.
As usual, Miller didn’t need much run support to give the Braves a chance to win. Spangenberg knocked an RBI double in the second inning but the Padres otherwise did little against Miller, who had six strikeouts and recorded 11 ground-ball outs.
Miller’s only major misstep was a collision with first baseman Freddie Freeman in the first inning. Both players were chasing a pop foul near the Braves’ dugout.
“I told him it felt like Brian Urlacher,” Miller said, referring to the linebacker for the NFL’s Chicago Bears. “He’s obviously a strong guy. That’s not my play to make. I tried to get out of the way at the last second but that’s a bonehead mistake on my part.”
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Maybin and Peterson keyed the Braves’ three-run third inning. Peterson singled, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on Maybin’s single. Maybin stole second base and Freddie Freeman singled to score him, and Nick Markakis followed with a double to bring home Freeman for the 3-1 lead.
But the bullpen couldn’t hold it again.
“We’re fine,” Miller said. “We know what we are capable of and what we are able to do. We are going to have some rough games here and there. We are going to have some rough stretches and have some games that are better than others. But at the end of the day, we are a family. We are a team.”
Maybin singled again in the fifth inning for his fifth consecutive multi-hit game and seventh in his last eight.
