DENVER — The Braves roared out to a 12-1 start this season, and it ended much the way their last two comparable starts ended: abruptly, followed immediately by a bit of a slump. They are 1-4 in their past five games including a three-game skid Friday through Sunday at Pittsburgh.
It’s reminiscent of 1982, when the Braves started 13-0, then lost their next five. And 1994, when they started 13-1, then lost nine of the next 11.
This year, the Braves had a 10-game winning streak to push their record to 12-1. They’ve lost four of five since then while totaling nine runs and four homers, all the homers and six of the runs coming in the lone win during that period, in Thursday’s series opener at Pittsburgh.
They hit .157 with no homers and three runs combined while losing the last three games at Pittsburgh.
The Braves are still unbeaten (13-0) when they hit at least one homer, and still winless (0-5) when they don’t. Despite hitting none in their past three games, they still led the majors with 29 homers before Monday, one more than the Rockies and two ahead of the Yankees.
Best records: The Braves and Rockies were tied for the majors' best record (13-5) before Monday, and each had spent most of the season atop the division standings. The Braves spent the past 14 days in first place in the NL East, and the Rockies had spent 15 days in first place including the past seven days.
The Braves and Rockies also had the longest winning streaks in the league this season. Colorado’s eight-game streak was snapped Sunday against Arizona. Sunday’s loss was also the Rockies’ first in nine home games.
