Braves look to regroup after being swept by Brewers
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ATLANTA -- On Aug. 3, the Braves were five games back of the National League East-leading Phillies and were seemingly mounting another late comeback in the divisional standings.
Oh, how quickly things can change.
After Thursday’s 16-7 loss to the Brewers at Truist Park -- which completed a three-game sweep for Milwaukee -- Atlanta will enter a 10-day road trip behind the Mets for third place in the NL Wild Card standings. It's the first time Atlanta has not been in possession of a postseason spot since June 10, 2022.
The Mets (61-54) stand alone for the third and final NL Wild Card spot and in second place in the NL East, ahead of Atlanta (60-54) by a half game.
Atlanta has lost five in a row and it’s the Braves’ second losing streak of five or more games since the All-Star break.
After dropping a weekend set against the Nationals, Milwaukee came into Atlanta and outscored the Braves, 34-12. The Brewers scored 10 runs on Tuesday, eight on Wednesday and 16 on Thursday.
The Brewers accumulated 52 hits in three games against Atlanta’s pitching staff. Milwaukee tallied 16 hits in Games 1 and 2 and 20 hits in Game 3. Atlanta tallied 26 hits in the series overall.
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Milwaukee blasted a season-high six home runs and tallied 20 hits in the season finale.
It was tied for the most runs the Braves have given up in a game this season. Atlanta gave up 16 runs to the Mets on April 11.
“It was a combination of both [the Braves struggling and the Brewers playing well],” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We weren’t very good. That might be an understatement today.”
Atlanta is 8 1/2 games back in the NL East standings after the Phillies beat the Diamondbacks on Thursday night.
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“That’s how quick it can change,” Snitker said. “That’s why you can never take anything for granted. I keep saying, 'hopefully we’ll turn it around.'”
Charlie Morton once again struggled Thursday. He went just 2 2/3 innings and allowed eight earned runs on nine hits with three strikeouts and one walk. Four of the nine hits were long balls.
Morton allowed three runs in the first, three in the second and two in the third.
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The first five runs were all scored with two outs. William Contreras hit a two-run home run in the top of the first and Jackson Chorurio did the same thing in the top of the second. Garrett Mitchell followed Chourio with a solo homer and it was the third time the Brewers went back-to-back this season.
It was the second time in three starts that Morton lasted just 2 2/3 innings. He was pulled in the third inning of a July 26 loss to the Mets in which he allowed seven runs (five earned) on six hits and he gave up three home runs.
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“I look back and the way my ball is spinning, the way the ball is moving, I think it’s no better or worse than normal,” Morton said. “I think that [the Brewers] are a really good team. The windows for me today weren’t big at all. ... They’re very patient. There wasn’t a lot of chase. There was a lot of deep counts and fouling balls off.”
Morton gave way to right handed reliever Parker Dunshee who made his MLB debut.
Dunshee earned his first three Major League strikeouts in the top of the fourth but he was welcomed to the big club in the top of the fifth as he allowed five runs including two, two-run home runs -- one of which was Chourio’s second of the game.
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Brewers starting pitcher Frankie Montas didn’t allow a hit until the bottom of the third inning. After walking Whit Merrifield and Jarred Kelenic, Austin Riley hit a three-run home run to make the score 8-3. The Braves scored a run in the seventh and three runs in the eighth, but it was too little, too late.
“They did everything right and we couldn’t get anything going,” Riley said. “It was not a very good series. We’ll try to flush it and move on to [Friday].”
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Strikeouts continue to be an issue for a Braves offense that led in multiple offensive categories a year ago. Atlanta batters struck out 35 times in the Brewers series and 55 times during the losing streak.
“I thought we’d made some ground and those first two games [against the Marlins] were really good, offensively,” Riley said. “We were swinging it and just kind of hit a wall. The Brewers were doing a lot of things right, and we just couldn’t get anything going. We get to play [Friday], so we’ll try to just have short memory.”