ANAHEIM -- The Braves had a bad case of déjà vu on Friday night at Angel Stadium. They had a chance in the eighth inning -- runners on first and second with one out. They were in a similar situation in the previous inning, and the inning before that. And in the fifth inning. But again, just like the other three innings before, the Braves failed to capitalize.

Instead, Angels closer Ben Joyce came into the game and immediately got Whit Merrifield to ground into an inning-ending double play. Joyce handled the Angels without so much as breaking a sweat. It only took him 14 pitches to get five outs to secure Atlanta’s 3-2 loss in the series opener.

“We had a lot of opportunities,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “Just couldn’t get a hit. We could’ve scored a lot of runs in that game. We just couldn’t get a big hit.”

The Braves were 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position on Friday, leaving 11 runners on base. They got the leadoff man on base in six innings, but could only bring home one of them, in the two-run fourth frame, giving them an early lead.

When the Angels tied the game in the next half-inning on a two-run homer from Logan O’Hoppe, it looked as if the Braves were going to have an offensive explosion to take the lead right back in the fifth. Michael Harris II singled on a line drive to right field, then Marcell Ozuna and Matt Olson drew walks to load the bases with one out. It was the Braves best chance to seize control of the game, and they walked away with nothing as Sean Murphy struck out and Orlando Arcia flew out to center field.

“We’ve got to get those hits,” Murphy said postgame. “...I don’t think anyone’s happy about that.”

Spencer Schwellenbach had a decent outing despite giving up the home run in the fourth, which was hit off a well-placed curveball down at the bottom of the zone.

“It was working really well for me up until that point,” Schwellenbach said. “I threw it right at his knees and he just put a good swing on it. … At that point, I just tip my cap.”

Schwellenbach bounced back in the fifth inning when he struck out the side on 12 pitches, but uncharacteristically walked the first two batters in the sixth, one of whom ended up being the winning run to end his night.

“He kind of regrouped in the fifth and was really, really good,” Snitker said of his starter’s performance. “Just the plight of a young pitcher, pretty much.”

With their second consecutive loss, the Braves are faltering at a time when they very much can’t afford to. They’re clinging to a one-game lead over the Mets for the third and final NL Wild Card spot, but they could not take advantage of the two teams ahead of them (the Padres and D-backs) losing their respective games. Missed opportunities were the theme of the day, they’ve been the theme of the season to this point for the Braves and if that continues to be the case down the stretch, Snitker knows there won’t be any more opportunities.

“We need to win games,” Snitker said. “This is the time of year when you’ve got to win. You have to figure out a way to make it happen because they’re big, all of them. All the losses are big, the wins are big. This is what it’s all about, playing to get in the playoffs.”