SAN DIEGO – The Braves went into Tuesday knowing they’d need their offense in Game 1 of the best-of-three wild-card series. Their pitching staff was depleted. Realistically, the route to victory involved producing several runs.
Yet the Braves didn’t score any. The Padres won, 4-0, and the Braves need consecutive victories at the electric Petco Park to extend their season.
A collection of unheralded Braves pitchers held the Padres to four runs. San Diego had one hit after the second inning. Even though starter AJ Smith-Shawver recorded only four outs, the collective effort was reasonably the best the Braves could’ve hoped from a run-prevention standpoint.
And that makes the offense’s no-show all-the-more maddening.
Padres starter Michael King was sensational with 12 strikeouts across seven scoreless innings. He deserves credit. He’s been one of baseball’s best pitchers for months and this result was undoubtedly a product of his effort.
“We had some opportunities and he made pitches when he had to,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It had a lot to do with him instead of us.”
But this same offense struggled Monday against Mets starter Joey Lucchesi – whom New York pitched simply because it’d just clinched a playoff spot – and hasn’t provided reason for optimism throughout the year. The pitching staff has carried the Braves in 2024. If there’s going to be any sort of surprise run here, the offense will need to discover consistency that’s largely eluded it.
If it replicates Tuesday’s showing in Game 2, the Braves will be boarding a flight back to Atlanta shortly after.
“Here we go,” catcher Travis d’Arnaud said. “It’s almost like (Monday, when the Braves had to win the second game of a doubleheader to qualify for the postseason). It’s win or go home. We all know what the situation is. We’ll be ready to play.”
There’s no doubt the Braves were undermanned and facing a massive challenge in the opener due to their circumstances. But this was a winnable game. Instead, the offense that’s pulled a Houdini the entire season – even when the team was much healthier – failed to muster anything.
The Braves had two hitters reach in two of the first three innings against King. They didn’t score. Nor did they after d’Arnaud laced a two-out double in the fourth. In fact, King retired the next 10 batters – 14 out of 15 overall – and the Braves’ bats looked increasingly feeble as his pitch count climbed.
“He controlled the zone, controlled the game,” outfielder Michael Harris II said. “He had 12 strikeouts; that’s a lot of strikeouts, so he pitched well in the game. The main thing for us was not missing on the pitches we got to hit. He was doing a good job not leaving anything over the middle of the plate. So it was hard to do that.”
King exited for the bullpen – Jason Adam and Robert Suarez, a spectacular tandem – to record the final six outs, which were achieved with relative ease.
By night’s end, the Braves had struck out 15 times (only six teams struck out more in the regular season, so that’s been a recurring topic). They didn’t draw a walk. They went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. They stranded seven baserunners. The numbers and eye test agreed: It was an discouraging showing from a group that expects better yet has continuously battled itself in these situations.
“(The Padres’) pitching did really well, and they executed and took out all of us,” d’Arnaud said.
There isn’t a magic remedy here or else the Braves would’ve hit better months ago. This offense, as it’s been, would likely be exposed in a short series. The Padres have Joe Musgrove (3.88 ERA) and, if needed, Dylan Cease (3.47 ERA with gaudy strikeout numbers) lined up for their next two starts. Both are accomplished veterans who are difficult to face for good offenses, much less sputtering ones.
The Braves’ offense has had spurts of success. Can it create another?
“We know what’s at stake (Wednesday),” Harris said. “Today didn’t feel, I guess, as one-sided as it looked, as the score showed. But I feel like for most of the game, it was a pretty quiet game for both sides. I guess one swing determined each inning for them.”
The Braves are going to need some swings to determine better results for them, now. Their season depends on it.
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