DENVER – The Braves’ free fall out of playoff position continued in their series opener to the Rockies Friday night at Coors Field.
The lineup’s power helped the Braves erase a four-run deficit, before a seventh-inning double by Colorado’s Ryan McMahon doomed the Braves to a 6-5 defeat and their sixth consecutive loss.
Here are five observations on the game:
1. At the start of the week, the Braves boasted the lowest team ERA in the majors and looked to their arms to overcome their lineup’s lackluster production in 2024. That trust has vanished over the course of the nightmarish series against Milwaukee and their opener against Colorado.
After giving up 24 runs across three games to the Brewers, the Braves (60-55) failed to rebound against the 74-loss Rockies. Starter Grant Holmes surrendered five earned runs in five innings of work, and reliever A.J. Minter gave up back-to-back doubles in the seventh inning after the Braves had tied the game and took his fourth loss of the season.
Across their six-game losing streak, the Braves have been outscored by 31 runs, and the pitching has transformed from their lifeline to a liability.
“I wouldn’t call it a bad outing, just bad results,” Minter said. “You just hate it for the team because the hitters fought back and did their job. ... They had a reason to feel sorry for themselves, and they decided to come back and give us another chance to win.”
2. The Braves have had chances to exhibit their dominance against much weaker teams since the All-Star break, but they have failed to convert those opportunities into playoff traction. After losing both games against the NL Central’s last-place team, the Reds, and splitting their series against the NL East’s last-place team, the Marlins, the Braves looked to pounce on a Colorado club with the worst winning percentage and run differential in the National League.
Instead, the Rockies outclassed the visitors for most of the game and bested them in the final innings. Colorado built a 5-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth, then recovered its lead in the seventh inning on McMahon’s RBI double. Left fielder Jarred Kelenic gave the Braves a late spark by opening the ninth inning with a single and advanced into scoring position, before a strikeout by third baseman Austin Riley stranded Kelenic at third base to end the game.
“In times like these, you can’t drift apart — we’ve got to get closer,” Riley said. “This group will do that. Tomorrow is a new day.”
3. In a matchup between young starting pitchers with fewer than five career starts, Colorado’s Tanner Gordon succeeded in limiting the Braves’ bats, while Holmes forced the Braves’ lineup into catch-up mode.
Both starters lasted five innings and surrendered six hits and a home run — as well as posting nearly identical strikeout totals — but Holmes faltered in the third and fourth innings and surrendered five earned runs to Gordon’s two. After designated hitter Marcell Ozuna blasted a 440-foot home run off Gordon in the first inning to start the scoring, the Braves scored one run over the next five frames and couldn’t compensate for Holmes’ mediocre outing.
4. Holmes’ struggles in his third career start continued one of the Braves’ most troubling trends in the final weeks of the regular season, but the Braves should reap the rewards of more experience and stability on the mound in their weekend games against the Rockies. With Max Fried and Spencer Schwellenbach available as options as the Braves look to salvage a vital series, the rotation could find its footing and give the lineup a boost.
“I’m hoping that maybe we can get a little continuity going,” manager Brian Snitker said. “We’ve had a rough stretch of starts, and it just really taxes the bullpen. Hopefully, starting tomorrow, we can get on the other side of that.”
5. One positive development from Friday’s loss was the Braves’ contributions from across their lineup. Kelenic notched three hits in four at-bats out of the eighth spot in the lineup, while catcher Sean Murphy blazed his way to a triple in the second inning and added a double in the top of the eighth. Ozuna, center fielder Ramon Laureano and right fielder Jorge Soler each sent a home run into the Coors Field bleachers. Together, the Braves’ lineup demonstrated its resilience amid an early deficit, but their efforts did not add up to a win.
“It just felt like it could have been better, honestly,” Snitker said. “But it was good to see. It probably felt good for Jorge to get his first homer since being back, and Ramon has been swinging the bat decent. We’ll take any little positive that we can get.”
Stat to know
31 - The Braves’ run differential over their six-game losing skid.
Quotable
“You just hate it for the team because the hitters fought back and did their job.” - A.J. Minter on surrendering the go-ahead double
Up next:
Max Fried will pitch against the Rockies’ Dakota Hudson Saturday. First pitch is at 8:10 pm.
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