Braves fall despite Joc's jack vs. old pals

LOS ANGELES -- Along with being one of the baseball’s best pitchers, Charlie Morton is also one of the game’s deepest thinkers. So as he spoke to the media after a 3-2 loss to the Dodgers on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, it wasn’t surprising to hear him provide a thoughtful perspective on the struggles the Braves have had while playing some of the game’s best teams over the past week.

“I’m not saying it’s a good team to lose to,” Morton said. “But I think it would galvanize us a little bit coming into a place like this and you’re coming off [last week’s] series with the Yankees at home. At some points of that series it had a little bit of a Yankee Stadium vibe to it and a little playoff atmosphere. Coming here, the same. Because of that, it could help galvanize us just facing those challenges, because everything is not easy.”

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There has been nothing easy about the Braves’ recent schedule. They were swept by the Yankees in a two-game set last week and then took two of three against the Giants last weekend. But they have now dropped the first two games of this three-game set against the defending World Series champion Dodgers.

Really, the only thing that has prevented this trip from being a complete disaster so far is that X-rays of Ozzie Albies’ left knee were negative after he fouled a pitch off his leg and had to be carried off the field on Tuesday.

Joc Pederson was a member of that Dodgers team that won a World Series after overcoming a 3-1 deficit against the Braves in last year’s National League Championship Series. He began this year with the Cubs, but has become a clubhouse favorite since being acquired by Atlanta on July 15.

His ability to quickly become one of the more respected members of the Braves clubhouse makes it easier to understand why the Dodgers fans have shown him so much love over the past couple days. When he began Tuesday’s third inning by homering against an elevated changeup thrown by his good friend Walker Buehler, he heard some cheers from Dodgers fans as he rounded the bases.

But as much as Pederson enjoyed his seven seasons with the Dodgers, he is now committed to winning a second straight World Series ring, only this time with the Braves.

But should the Braves be considered World Series threats even after they have gone 2-5 during this stretch against some of baseball’s top teams?

“That is a really good team over there,” Pederson said. “It could have gone either way today. They came up with some big hits later in the game. But it was a great game between two great teams. So, I like our chances.”

That’s not necessarily a motivating response. But there isn’t much reason for the Braves to be too disturbed by losing the first two games of this series. Yeah, their National League East lead has been reduced to 2 1/2 games over the Phillies. But they have continued to prove they do match up well with some of the game’s best clubs.

“We’re a good club and we’re showing it,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “Back to back, we’re playing with two of the better teams in the game.”

This latest loss came courtesy of a Corey Seager eighth-inning double that ended Tyler Matzek’s scoreless innings streak at 18 innings. Luke Jackson had also surrendered a run in the seventh to remove a potential win from Morton, who counted a Mookie Betts solo homer as the only damage he incurred over six innings.

Morton’s strong effort came in his first appearance at Dodger Stadium since he clinched the 2017 World Series for the Astros by pitching the final four innings of Game 7. Pederson’s homer came in what was his first game, since he visited his L.A. hairstylist and changed his hair color to blond.

“I wanted to mix it up a little bit,” Pederson said.

Now, the Braves just need to also alter their current trend and grab a win before ending this series against the defending champs.