ARLINGTON, Texas – It seemed there could be no further depths to which the Braves could sink after two wrenching defeats against the lowly Rangers, coughing up an eighth-inning lead Friday and giving up three unearned runs to blow a 2-0 lead in a 3-2 loss Saturday.
But they reached a new low Sunday by getting their doors blown off by the Rangers, who scored six runs on two-out hits in the fifth inning and hammered the Braves 10-3 to complete a three-game sweep, just the second series sweep of the season for Texas and its first since April.
The Rangers built a 10-0 lead before Ryan Doumit homered in the seventh inning for the Braves, who tacked on a couple more runs in the eighth against the Rangers bullpen after the outcome had long since become inevitable.
Atlanta completed a 2-7 trip and fell to four games behind Pittsburgh and 2 1/2 behind Milwaukee in the race for the second National League wild-card spot, with only 13 games to play. The Braves start a three-game home series Monday against the Nationals, whose magic number to clinch the NL East is down to four.
Any combination of Nationals wins and Braves losses totaling four gives Washington the division title, after the Braves won it last season. The Braves, who were 29 games over .500 (89-60) at this point in the 2013 season, are now just one game over .500 (75-74).
They didn’t look anything like a playoff-caliber team while losing every series on the trip in Miami, Washington and Texas. They managed one win apiece against the Marlins and Nationals, then got swept by an injury-riddled Texas team that’s using many players who’d be in Triple-A if not for the team’s overflowing disabled list.
The Braves came in batting a majors-worst .194 in September and managed just five hits and one run in seven innings against Colby Lewis (10-13), who came in with a 5.29 ERA. The Rangers right-hander had been 1-8 with a 7.16 ERA in his past 12 home starts before Sunday.
Atlanta is 3-9 in September with 31 runs scored, including three runs or fewer scored in eight of 12 games and four consecutive series losses.
Braves starter Mike Minor (6-11) got no help from his defense or bullpen and was charged with eight hits, five runs and three walks in 4 2/3 innings. It was the first time the left-hander lasted fewer than six innings or allowed more than three runs in seven starts since making some adjustments after having his rotation turn skipped once in early August.
The Rangers swept three games at Oakland April 21-23, back when the team had a lineup that featured Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo, and a pitching staff led by Yu Darvish.
Those three were among the many Rangers to suffer season-ending injuries as the wheels fell off the team’s wagon, sending them into a spiral in which they posted a 19-57 record between June 17 and Thursday, the day before the Braves arrived. The Rangers had lost 11 of their past 12 before welcoming the Braves to town, then sweeping them.
They jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning Sunday when Adam Rosales drew a one-out walk and No. 9 hitter Michael Choice got a two-out hit to left-center field that Justin Upton misplayed into what was ruled a triple. The ball bounced off Upton’s thigh and hand as he tried to field it on the bounce while running in the gap, and it caromed into center field away from Upton and center fielder Emilio Bonifacio, who was backing him up on the play.
It was Upton who made the two-out, sixth-inning error Saturday that opened the door for three unearned runs against Braves starter Julio Teheran, who pitched a complete game with no earned runs allowed and still took a loss.
The Rangers added a run on three hits in the fourth inning, then blew the game wide open in the fifth inning. After Minor retired the first two batters, he gave up a double, a broken-bat RBI single and a walk to the next three.
Reliever David Hale was brought in at that point and gave up hits to each of the first four batters he faced, including a two-run double by Choice and an RBI double for former Braves shortstop prospect Elvis Andrus.
For complete write-thru version of this story including postgame quotes, go to MyAJC.com or use this link.
