The Braves’ momentum came to a halt Monday in Cincinnati.
Facing the Reds at one of their franchise’s lowest points, the Braves coughed up a 2-0 lead and lost 10-4. The Reds entered the night with MLB’s third-worst run differential and a 3-18 record.
Headlining the night was another lackluster showing from the walk-plagued Braves bullpen. Sam Freeman began the struggle, allowing the first three Reds to reach in what became a five-run sixth inning.
Here’s what the Braves said after the loss:
Manager Brian Snitker
On Mike Foltynewicz’s start:
“Just the command. Drove the pitch count up. And it was just trying to get him through the fifth inning really. (Scott Schebler) got on top of that one (home run), that high fastball. … He threw some really good pitches, good breaking balls, good changes. But the fastball command was kind of off from the get-go.”
How concerned are you about Sam Freeman?
“I’m not concerned other than the fact we’ve used him a lot. I probably need to give him a blow. I think he’s healthy and all that, we’ve just been leaning on him pretty hard from the get-go. Probably just need to stay away from him for a while.”
On Reds starter Sal Romano:
“We just hadn’t seen him. He’s a big strong kid. Has a good arm. A lot of times, first time you see a guy, and I don’t think we’ve had a lot of at-bats off of him … we just didn’t do much with him.”
On Nick Markakis’ three-RBI night, excelling as clean-up hitter:
“He’s been swinging the bat really well, really well. Just steady and had some really solid at-bats. Been real consistent like he is.”
Starter Mike Foltynewicz
On his night:
“At the end of the day, I just didn’t do my job as a starter. Over this year, feels like I’ve been scratching and clawing just to get to the fifth inning, let alone the ninth. So it’s a little embarrassing. I let the team down, let the bullpen down tonight. They had a lot to pick up. The offense had a lot of work to do today to get a win and I just let the team down from the get-go.”
Could you tell early on your fastball control was off?
“It was just a little different. A lot of non-competitive pitches tonight. Kind of like a lot of the other starts, but tonight they weren’t going to swing at it out of my hand. That’s how bad some of the pitches were tonight. So if we can get that a little bit more around the plate. But on a good note, it could’ve got ugly right away like in the past. I could’ve been out there three innings, seven runs instead of what we did today. So if you want to end on a good note, kept the team in it. But at the end of the day I didn’t do my job.”
On the Schebler home run:
“Just an 0-2 pitch. We talked about it a little bit. If it was a ball up or a ball down, he’s going to miss the bat. But it was just a little too good of a pitch, 0-2 up in the zone especially, we just have to get one or two balls higher or go with a different pitch. Too good of an 0-2 pitch for a major-league hitter.”
Reliever Sam Freeman
On the walks:
“You’ll see a change in direction on that. I’m positive on that.”
How frustrating is it?
“It’s a killer. Makes it hard to sleep at night. That’s something we have control over. We pretty much handed them the game tonight, speaking for myself. But that’s a tough one to swallow.”
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