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And again. Once again, the Braves’ offense couldn’t get going, and once again the starting pitcher wasn’t good enough to keep the game tight, and once again they were hurt by defensive breakdowns.

Mike Hampton is still winless on the year, but could have gotten away unscathed with a little more defensive support. In the third inning, he got what might have been a grounder to end the inning but Jesse Garcia’s throw was wild. (It was scored an infield hit.) Two batters later, the first two runs of the game scored on a single. Single runs scored each of the next two innings (one on more sloppy defense), and the Braves were on their way to another defeat. Hampton wasn’t good, but he wasn’t that bad.

The offense, once again, was bad. Drew homered with Marcus on first in the sixth to score the Braves’ only runs. Mark DeRosa led off but was 0-4. He is now hitting .208/.274/.300 for the season. Again, leadoff. Rafael Furcal was restricted to pinch-hitting duties again. I don’t think it a coincidence that the Braves’ run of haplessness began with the leadoff hitter on the bench. Whatever’s wrong with his finger is obviously not as minor as it was initially made to sound.

Day game today. You would think that John Thomson versus Jeff Suppan would be a matchup favoring the Braves. Suppan will probably pitch a perfect game.