The Braves lost to the Cardinals 6-2 Sunday, dropping two of three at home to begin the second half.
Here are five takeaways from Sunday:
1. It was a rain-ridden, disappointing weekend in Atlanta. After splitting Saturday’s doubleheader, the Braves mustered only two runs on seven hits against Cardinals righty Miles Mikolas on Sunday. And while there have been more homers – the Braves hit six in these three games – they scored only 10 runs total. Their lone win required extra innings.
“Unfortunately we didn’t win this series against the Cardinals,” catcher Travis d’Arnaud said. “Obviously, they’re a playoff-contention team and they’re playing good baseball. They can pitch well and hit for power, like they showed today. So we just have to assess what we did this series and learn from it.”
2. Making matters worse, second baseman Ozzie Albies injured his hand when it grazed a baserunner with two outs in the ninth and will go on the injured list. Michael Siani was attempting to steal second and d’Arnaud delivered an inaccurate throw. Albies tried snagging it and caught his hand on Siani, bending his wrist and popping his glove off. He immediately exited the game, replaced by Zack Short.
“It’s not good,” Snitker said of Albies’ injury. “A runner hit it and that’s never good. He’ll obviously go on the IL and we’ll go through moves and stuff this evening.”
Albies was undergoing testing after the game, so he wasn’t available to speak with reporters.
3. Albies leads Atlanta-era Braves second baseman in homers, runs, RBIs and fWAR. He’s been a key part of the franchise’s six consecutive division titles, and with the team already dealing with myriad injuries, his absence will be felt. Short has just a .421 OPS.
The Braves already needed to explore adding an outfielder and starter before the trade deadline. For those wondering, top prospect Nacho Alvarez, a shortstop, has never played second base. But this further damages the Braves’ lineup, which was already severely weakened by underperformance and injuries.
4. Spencer Schwellenbach, who closed the first half with a couple stellar performances against the Phillies and Padres, surrendered three solo homers in six innings (to Paul Goldschmidt, Alec Burleson and Lars Nootbar). He allowed four runs on seven hits overall, striking out eight.
“Solo homers are fine, three of them, though, is a little too much,” Schwellenbach said. “Just staying consistent on the mound. A couple of the home runs, I hit my spot. I can’t be mad about the result. I hit my spot, inside fastball, fastball up, I hit the spot. Just after the inning I have to flush it and know I did my job even though the result was bad.”
5. Outfielder Jarred Kelenic had an 0-for-25 stretch before his triple Saturday. He followed with a home run Sunday, his 11th. Kelenic is slugging .608 with a .995 OPS in 111 plate appearances during the first three innings of games. He’s generally been superb as the lead-off man and is starting to put his latest skid behind him.
Meanwhile, the team desperately needs first baseman Matt Olson to exit his slump. He went 0-for-4 Sunday, hitting into two double plays. Entering the day, Olson was hitting .135 with a .413 OPS over his past 28 games. His season average has dipped to .222 with his OPS dropping below .700 (.692). Olson’s struggles have played a huge part in the Braves’ offensive woes.
Stat to know
2 (The Braves have scored two or fewer runs in six of Schwellenbach’s nine starts, winning just once.)
Quotable
“It gets to a point where (the injuries) are over the top here a little bit. You can’t cover it. Depth will cover to an extent, but after a while, it’s hard.” – Snitker
Up next
The Braves open a three-game home series against the Reds on Monday. Reynaldo Lopez (7-3, 1.88) will oppose Cincinnati ace Hunter Greene (6-4, 3.34).
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