Arcia provides jolt with HR but 'pen falls

PITTSBURGH -- Asked about how the remainder of this week might affect what the front office does before the Trade Deadline, Braves manager Brian Snitker provided the reminder that getting on a roll requires more than just desire.

“I wish we could wish our way through wins, but it doesn’t work that way,” Snitker said. “It’s not that easy to just say, ‘We have to win.’ Yeah, we do. But there’s a lot of different variables that stand in your way a lot of times.”

One of this year’s most maddening variables has been an offense that has slumbered far too often recently for the Braves, who took another step back with a 2-1 loss to the Pirates on Tuesday night at PNC Park.

How ugly was this loss? Well, it ended with Tyler Matzek issuing a four-pitch, bases-loaded walk to Bryan Reynolds. Matzek issued three walks and recorded a strike with just eight of the 20 pitches he threw in the ninth.

“It was hot and humid,” Braves starter Ian Anderson said. “Definitely struggling with the grip, I know some of the guys were. You definitely don’t want to be in that situation. It’s a little different as a starter because you can work your way through it and limit the damage.”

Matzek had no room for error thanks to an offense that has tallied one or zero runs in 15 of its first 85 games. This equals the team’s total over the entire 2019 season.

But like the Braves, Matzek simply isn’t who he was when he constructed a great comeback story last year. The humid conditions in this latest outing were similar to what the Braves played in on June 24, when Matzek walked three of the six batters he faced in Cincinnati.

The spin rate of his four-seam fastball (-370), slider (-360) and curveball (-505) were all down significantly that night against the Reds. This created reason to wonder if the lefty could be as dependable as he had been before June 21, when MLB began enhancing enforcement of its rules against pitchers applying foreign substances to baseballs.

Matzek was not made available via the postgame Zoom on Tuesday. He walked two batters during a June 29 outing against the Mets, but he created some hope on Monday when he recorded a pair of strikeouts and worked a perfect eighth during a blowout loss to the Pirates.

“He grinded through yesterday and the last couple [outings] before that, he did pretty good,” Snitker said. “So, it was a tough one.”

Tough losses have too often been the case when the Braves have neared a .500 record like they did after erasing a four-run, ninth-inning deficit in Sunday’s win over the Marlins. The comeback victory positioned them to possibly realize their first winning record of the season by the end of Tuesday’s game.

But they have instead lost the first two games of this series against the Pirates, who entered Monday having lost six of their past seven games.

“It's something that we're trying to kind of push through,” Anderson said. “We'll see what happens.”

While the bullpen has been problematic, the biggest need before the July 30 Trade Deadline seems to be at least one bat. Three-hole hitter Marcell Ozuna has been out since late May, and cleanup hitter Travis d’Arnaud’s three-plus-month absence with a thumb injury won’t end until some time in August.

“There's not a magic potion or anything that you can sprinkle on these guys,” Snitker said. “It hurts when you lose your three and four hitter. You take any team that loses those guys and they're going to have trouble. Guys are battling and working. They are trying as hard as they can. It’s not happening. It can be frustrating, but it’s not from lack of effort.”

Looking to find lightning in a bottle or possibly to create a quick offensive fix, the Braves asked Orlando Arcia to begin playing the outfield last week. They promoted the veteran infielder from Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday and plan to use him as their left fielder for the foreseeable future.

Arcia was the only Braves player to reach second base on Tuesday. He homered off Pirates starter Chad Kuhl in the fifth and recorded a steal after tallying a third-inning single.

Adding Arcia is not the answer to the Braves’ offensive problems. But the fact he became the best option for a short-term fix provides a better understanding of how significant these woes are.

“I see the work these guys put in,” Anderson said. “I know that there's good things coming. You’ve just got to stay with it.”