DENVER — In one of the Braves’ most brutal losses of the season, the Braves’ bullpen lost an 8-2 eighth inning lead against the Rockies in the decisive series finale. Relievers Luke Jackson and Joe Jimenez allowed a combined seven runs in the bottom of the eighth, leading to the Braves’ 9-8 loss to the NL’s last place team.
Here are five observations on Atlanta (61-56):
1. The Braves entered the eighth inning of Sunday’s game with a commanding 8-2 lead and just six outs separating them from a pivotal series victory over the Rockies. According to Baseball Savant, the Braves held a win probability of greater than 99 percent after Jackson’s strikeout of Colorado’s Brendan Rodgers to open the inning.
Then, the Rockies unleashed a fury of hits. Jake Cave lifted a two-run home run to center field to cut Colorado’s deficit to 8-4, then Sam Hilliard and Aaron Schunk tacked on two-out base hits. That led manager Brian Snitker to call on Jimenez to get the inning’s final out with Charlie Blackmon at the plate. Colorado continued to spray baseballs across the Coors Field outfield with four hits in a six-pitch sequence, culminating in Rodgers’ two-run double to give the Rockies the lead. Jimenez finished the inning on Michael Toglia’s flyout, and the Braves fell victim to a double play and a strikeout to end the game. The Rockies’ totals across the sequence of nine at-bats: five singles, two doubles and a home run.
“It’s tough to swallow,” Snitker said. “It’s a tough one. It’s even weird for here. We were an out away in the eighth, and next thing you know, the freaking roof came down. I don’t know. It’s a hard one to explain.”
2. Snitker did not hold back in describing his shock at the loss, but he also contextualized the defeat in a season in which the Braves are still very much alive in the playoff chase. The Braves will continue their road trip against San Francisco on Monday in a prime pitching matchup between Chris Sale and San Francisco’s Blake Snell.
“This is a gut-wrenching loss, but we have to turn the page because we have to play tomorrow,” Snitker said.
Jackson, who finished with four earned runs in his appearance, expressed his remorse at the outcome of the game and his own performance. He emphasized the offense’s steady production during the series as an encouraging sign and said the loss can be a motivator for himself and the Braves down the stretch.
“I let us down,” Jackson said. “I made a couple bad pitches that I wish I could have back. … I know this is a crappy loss and one that does sting a lot. These are the ones that fuel the fire. I know I’m better than that.”
3. Though his performance was overshadowed by the Braves’ bullpen, starter Spencer Schwellenbach gave the Braves just what they needed to open the game — stability and quality innings. In his first game in the thin Colorado air, the standout rookie’s stuff produced 17 whiffs and seven strikeouts, while limiting the Rockies to two runs and no home runs in his six-inning start.
“I thought I did well keeping the ball off the barrel, in and out, up and down,” Schwellenbach said. “I got into trouble there that one inning and thankfully only allowed them to get two runs there.”
Schwellenbach’s outing hit a rough patch in the fourth inning, when the Rockies strung together consecutive hits and a walk to load the bases with no outs. The sequence nearly cost the Braves their early 3-0 lead — the Rockies scored a pair of runs on a fielder’s choice and a single — but Schwellenbach adjusted and limited the damage by forcing Hilliard into a fly out and striking out Schunk.
“He wasn’t as sharp, I didn’t feel, as he had been, but he kept battling and he regrouped,” Snitker said. “He got through the sixth inning, which was awesome at that point in time. Then we added on runs and I felt really good about where we were.”
4. After Friday’s series-opening loss, Snitker called right fielder Jorge Soler’s first home run in his time back with the Braves one of the few positive developments. Soler amped up his power further throughout the weekend and delivered in key spots for the Braves.
In the sixth inning of Saturday’s contest, Soler scored two runners on an RBI single to extend the Braves’ lead to 8-5, then followed it up with an eighth-inning solo home run to give the Braves an insurance run in an 11-8 victory. On Sunday, Soler extended his streak of games with a home run to three by bashing a 444-foot, three-run home run to left field. The Braves’ main trade deadline acquisition capped off his series with one last mammoth shot, a 449-foot solo homer to center, for his first multi-home run game of the season and his fourth homer of the series.
“It was good to see Jorge kind of square some balls up this series, which was really good,” Snitker said. “We saw what he could do for us, and that can be big.”
5. In spite of the series defeat, the Braves’ offense seemed at home all series long at Coors Field, and their improved play was most obvious through their power. On Sunday, third baseman Austin Riley and catcher Travis d’Arnaud gave the Braves an early 3-0 lead with homers in the first and fourth inning, respectively, and the Braves generated at least five runs on offense for the fifth game in a row. Across the entirety of the series, the lineup scored 19 of its 24 runs off homers and sent at least three homers over the outfield wall in each game of the series.
Three matchups against the woeful Rockies pitching staff in the hitter-friendly confines of Coors Field set up well for the Braves to rebound offensively, but the Braves’ bats appeared to improve with each game.
“You always hope that is what is going to happen here (at Coors Field),” Snitker said. “Hopefully we carry it on to San Francisco and keep it going.”
Quotable:
“It’s a tough loss, it’s a horrible loss. I guess the eternal optimist (is) that there is still a lot of time to do a lot of good.” - manager Brian Snitker on the Braves’ collapse
Stat to Know:
7. The Braves tied a season-high for runs allowed in an inning in their eighth inning collapse.
Up Next:
Chris Sale will start the Braves’ series opener against San Francisco’s Blake Snell. The game will start at 9:45 pm.
