When the Braves traded away Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson, two of the few productive veterans from an already sputtering offense, they surely knew there would be a lot of nights like this by the offense the rest of the season.
And when they followed that up less than a week later by trading away starting pitcher Alex Wood and relievers Jim Johnson and Luis Avilan, they had to know there would be plenty of nights like this by the pitching staff the rest of the way, too.
Both of those components of the Braves were hard to watch Saturday night, when the Philadelphia Phillies pummeled the Braves 12-2 at Citizens Bank Park, handing them their sixth consecutive loss, ninth in 10 games, and 16th in 20 games. Nick Markakis hit a leadoff homer in a two-run first inning, but the Braves were outscored 12-0 from there.
Braves rookie Matt Wisler (5-2) got knocked around for eight hits, seven runs and two homers in 4 2/3 innings, after not allowing more than four earned runs in any of his previous seven starts.
“This is part of the growing pains,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “This is exactly what you’re going to get — you’re going to get two or three good outings by a young pitcher, then you’re going to get a bad one. Hopefully — I know with Wis the learning curve is short – he’ll go back out in five days and get it back on track.”
The Braves were also hopeful that shortstop Andrelton Simmons escaped serious injury to the thumb of his throwing hand when he hurt it trying to make a diving catch in shallow left field late in the game. X-rays taken afterward were negative, but Simmons had the thumb wrapped in ice after the game.
A team official said an update on Simmons’ status wouldn’t be announced until Sunday.
Wisler was 4-0 with a 3.30 ERA in five July starts, including a win at St. Louis on Sunday — the only win for the Braves so far on a 10-game trip that mercifully concludes Sunday afternoon.
Staked to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, Wisler gave up a run in the bottom of the inning and four in the fourth, including a three-run homer by Cameron Rupp on a first-pitch slider.
“I didn’t have great stuff today, but the big one was that three-run home run (by Rupp),” Wisler said. “Eight-hole (hitter), pitcher on deck, I’ve got to execute that pitch better. Cost us pretty bad with that one.”
Odubel Herrera added a solo homer to chase Wisler from the game in the fifth, and reliever David Aardsma gave up five runs in one inning of work, including Freddy Galvis’ three-run homer in the five-run sixth inning.
The Braves have been outscored 21-5 by the Phillies the past two nights. Rookie starter Williams Perez gave up nine runs in 4 1/3 innings of Friday’s 9-3 loss.
“Obviously the first few years of my career, I’m used to winning,” said Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman, who doubled and scored in the first inning on A.J. Pierzynski’s single. “Last year was the first year of losing, now we’re in the midst of losing again right now. But you know that I went through growing pains when I was a rookie, they’re going to go through growing pains, and we’re going to be waiting for them on the other side.
“This is what the team is all about. We’re going to go through our rough stretches, and we’re in the midst of one right now.”
Knowing there will be growing pains doesn’t make ugly losses such as this one any easier to swallow, Gonzalez said.
“No,” he said, “because you’ve got to develop, you’ve got to develop a winning attitude, and losses like this are not good for anybody.”
The Braves had three hits and two runs before Phillies rookie Aaron Nola recorded his second out. But after that it was all one-sided for the last-place Phillies, whose improbable 12-2 record since the All-Star break is the best in the majors. This after the Phillies lost 15 of their final 18 games prior to the break.
Sixteen runs in 10 games. That’s what the Braves offense has produced during this 1-9 skid, including three runs or fewer in all 10 games.
They got off to such a promising start against Nola, making just his third major league appearance and start. Markakis homered on the second pitch, the second homer for the veteran who went a career-high 355 at-bats between homers before hitting his first as a Brave on July 20. It was Markakis’ third career leadoff homer and first since last season with Baltimore.
One out later, Freeman doubled and scored on Pierzynski’s single for a 2-0 lead. The Braves had three hits, two runs and only one out in the first inning.
They would get just three hits the rest of the night.
Nola (2-1) was charged with five hits, two runs and no walks in five innings.
Wisler gave up a run in the first inning after a leadoff double by Cesar Hernandez. After Ryan Howard’s two-out single in the first, Wisler retired the next seven batters. But Maikel Franco’s leadoff double in the fourth started a whole lot of trouble for Wisler, who allowed an RBI single and a walk before Rupp’s two-out, three-run homer.
