ATLANTA -- A few hours after A.J. Minter used crutches to slowly get to the outfield grass for this year’s team picture, Braves manager Brian Snitker made another questionable decision that further highlighted how quickly his bullpen depth has evaporated.

Or maybe, the problem was the inconsistent offense that was unable to overcome the two solo home runs Reynaldo López surrendered during a 3-1 loss to the Rockies on Thursday night at Truist Park.

Either way, the Braves weakened their postseason bid by losing yet another game they were supposed to win. They split this year’s six-game season series against the Rockies, who own MLB’s second-worst record. The team with the worst record? That would be the historically-bad White Sox, who claimed two of their 32 wins in their three games against Atlanta.

Despite going 31-29 against teams with a losing record, the Braves are still tied with the Mets in the battle for the National League’s final Wild Card spot.

“It’s so frustrating,” López said through an interpreter. “No one wants to give up homers. No one wants to walk guys on four straight pitches. No one wants to lose games. But I think the silver lining is we won the series. We’re just going to turn the page from this and focus on the Toronto series.”

The most frustrating development of this latest loss might have been the inability to solve Rockies starter Austin Gomber, who allowed just one run and five hits over eight innings. Three of those hits, including Ramon Laureano’s RBI single, were recorded in the first.

Orlando Arcia’s leadoff double in the second was the last 100-mph exit velocity surrendered by Gomber, whose four-seamer averaged 89.8 mph.

"He threw well,” Braves first baseman Matt Olson said. “I'm not going to take any credit away from him. Sure, we're probably not seeing many guys at that velo, but he threw well and kept us off balance. We obviously couldn't get anything going.”

Gomber entered the night with a 4.69 ERA in 26 starts, and he has allowed a NL-high 27 homers. A Coors Field thing? Not necessarily; he has surrendered 14 of those longballs on the road. But the Braves, who rank third in the Majors with 72 home runs since the All-Star break, counted Arcia’s double as their only extra-base hit.

“It’s just frustrating that we couldn’t score, especially when you get another good start,” Snitker said. “López gives up two solo homers and we scored a run. He struck out 11 guys. It was a really strong start again. Just frustrating.”

Lopez, who has a 2.04 ERA through 23 starts, tallied a season-high 11 strikeouts over six innings. He has recorded two double-digit strikeout totals this year. Both have been recorded within the four starts he has made since spending three weeks on the injured list because of a right forearm tightness.

As frustrating as the offensive performance might have been, these kinds of nights happen. More concerning from a long-term view was Snitker’s decision to give the ball to Luke Jackson with the Braves trailing by one run entering the seventh. A Sean Murphy throwing error accounted for the unearned run allowed by Jackson.

But the decision to go with Jackson in this situation highlighted the lack of reliable options beyond the Braves’ four top relief options – Raisel Iglesias, Joe Jiménez, Pierce Johnson and Dylan Lee.

Minter, who last appeared against the Rockies on Aug. 11 is done for the year after undergoing season-ending left hip surgery. Jesse Chavez had a 1.32 ERA through the end of June, but has posted a 6.35 ERA -- with a .909 OPS allowed -- in the 16 appearances that have followed. Jackson has a 6.75 ERA in the nine appearances he’s made since the Braves acquired him from the Giants on July 30.

Snitker’s options are limited as he still tries to protect his high-leverage options from being overtaxed. He did like what he saw from John Brebbia, who recorded a pair of strikeouts while working a scoreless ninth in his first appearance with the Braves after being released by the White Sox last week.

“Even though we don’t have a lot of games left, we have enough where we can wear those guys out if we’re not careful,” Snitker said. “Other guys are going to have to step up and do the job also.”

It would also help if the offense that has tallied three runs or less in four of the past five games helps create a greater margin for error on a more consistent basis.