'We've gotta regroup': D-backs can't stop Braves' sweep

ATLANTA -- It just kept getting worse and worse for the Diamondbacks in their weekend series at Truist Park.

After Arizona blew late leads in Friday and Saturday's losses, the Braves left no doubt on Sunday, blasting three home runs en route to a 5-2 victory that completed the three-game sweep.

The D-backs have dropped four games in a row.

“They’re a good team and they have a really strong bullpen,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said of the Braves. “They have a manager that uses it right and it’s always a challenge. It’s a challenge because they’re a good team and they’re very balanced in a lot of different areas.”

In the first two games of the series, Arizona touched up Braves starters Spencer Strider and Max Fried, scoring a combined 12 runs off Atlanta’s No. 1 and No. 2 pitchers. Atlanta stormed back with two comeback wins in a row.

On Sunday, Atlanta led for almost the entire contest. Arizona starting pitcher Ryne Nelson had a strong outing, allowing three runs in five innings, striking out seven.

Nelson’s two big blemishes were against lefties Matt Olson and Michael Harris II. Olson hit a second-inning solo home run to the Chop House beyond right field, and Harris II sent a solo shot of his own into the right-center-field bleachers in the bottom of the fourth.

“I think it was kind of a rocky second inning,” Nelson said. “Once we got the cutter working, I think it kind of opened up a lot and I got some more swing-and-miss and some weak contact. Solo homers, that was the difference-maker tonight.”

Nelson is now 0-2 on the year with an ERA of 8.22 in 7 2/3 innings pitched.

“I thought he rose to the challenge,” Lovullo said of Nelson. “It was a Sunday day game. It was not going to be an easy game. He held serve and did a really good job. He made a couple of mistakes. That one to Harris, I don’t think it was a true mistake.”

Meanwhile, Braves starter Chris Sale was solid in his home debut. He went 5 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits, striking out six as he improved to 1-0.

The Diamondbacks earned two fourth-inning runs, but Sale and the Braves held the D-backs to just one hit after the fourth inning.

“Offensively, I felt like we had some moments,” Lovullo said. “We had a lot of moments. We just couldn’t cash in. We were taking very good swings all game long. Sale was good. Bottom line is, we didn’t score enough.”

The top of the third seemingly got off to a promising start for the D-backs. Blaze Alexander's swinging bunt was fielded by Sale, and the left-hander's throw to Olson at first base was off target, rolling down the right-field line.

Alexander would have advanced on the throwing error, but he was instead called out for batter interference as he ran down the grass inside the first-base line.

D-backs relievers kept the Braves off the scoreboard from the fifth through the seventh, but Austin Riley’s two-run home run off Miguel Castro in the bottom of the eighth gave the Braves some breathing room.

“It was a slider that was a cement mixer in the middle of the zone,” Lovullo said about Castro’s pitch to Riley. “When he throws it right, he gets a lot of swing-and-miss.”

Perdom-oh-no

The D-backs received bad news before Sunday’s game, as the club learned starting shortstop Geraldo Perdomo will miss at least a month with a torn right meniscus.

Alexander, Jace Peterson and Kevin Newman -- whose contract was selected from Triple-A Reno over the weekend and was in Sunday's lineup -- will attempt to fill the void in the interim.

Perdomo’s absence was noticeable in the middle infield, as Arizona committed five errors in the series.

A regroup series?

The D-backs will open up a three-game series against the Rockies starting on Monday at Coors Field in Denver.

“We've gotta regroup,” Lovullo said. “That’s the bottom line. We’re a good team. I’m going to stand on that no matter who is out there and who is banged up. We’re a good team. We just have to find our way to doing it right every single inning. We’ll get there.”