Second and third, nobody out in a tie game late…can anyone get that a run in? Anyone? Buehler? Buehler? Not Sunday night.
Walker Buehler was effectively wild for the Dodgers who rallied for a 9-2 win. The final score is deceiving when you consider the game was tied at 2-2 heading to the ninth. And even more so when you consider how it got to that point in the first place.
Uncle Charlie Morton was brilliant, allowing just one run in six innings of work. He gave way to Dylan Lee who has had a great season. Lee retired Max Muncy on a flyable to left and then struck out Keke Hernandez. But with a 3-2 count to the annoying Will Smith, Lee was called for a pitch clock violation, giving Smith first base. Andy Pages followed with a single and Shohei Ohtani doubled Smith home to tie it up.
Tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth, Dave Martinez turned to Michael Kopech. Marcell OHzuna drew a walk and Snit turned to Eli White to run for him. Matt Olson proceeded to launch one off the right field wall, giving the Braves runners on second and third with nobody out. How the speedy White did not score is beyond me. I didn’t run it back to see what happened, but dude should have scored.
Travis d’Arnaud popped out to left. With one out, Orlando Arcia strode to the plate. Can anyone else touch Kopech? Anyone? Anyone? Buehler? The answer was no. Arcia swung and missed at three up and in, 100+ mph four-seamers. And Jarred Kelenic fanned on three straight of the same variety. Kelenic at least go a piece of the first pitch.
What happened in the top of the ninth was simply bound to occur. Snit turned to Raisel Iglesias. Iglesias has been masterful all season, but had his 30 appearance streak of not giving up a run come to a close. Smith tripled off the right field wall with one out. Pages grounded back to the pitcher, and after walking Ohtani, the Braves hoped to get out of the inning. However, Mookie Betts had other ideas. He singled through the middle to give the Dodgers the lead. Old friend Freddie Freeman singled to left and Kelenic ran right over top of the ground ball. Three men scored to make it 5-2. Teoscar Hernandez followed with a two-run home run to chase Iglesias, and Tommy Edman and Muncy homered to give the Dodgers a 9-2 win.
At a time when every game counts, this one stings. There’s nothing else to say. San Diego is 3.5 games clear of the Braves and Mets, while the D’backs are two games up. Those three games with the Mets next week are looming large.
The Braves hope to win the series tonight when they send Max Fried (9-9, 3.46) to the mound against the team he will be playing for next season. LA will counter with Yoshinobu Yamamoto (6-2, 2.77). First pitch is scheduled for 7:20 Eastern/6:20 Central.
With less than two weeks left in the season, I wanted to tip my cap to the tireless Braves Journal recappers.
I don’t post much, but this website is still my go-to place for the best Braves recaps on the web.
I know this season has seen personal hardships for a few Braves Journal stalwarts, but I appreciate the efforts to keep Mac’s house up and running.
The seven runs were irrelevant. That game was lost in the bottom of the eighth, and it was over when it was 3-2 in the top of the ninth.
Agreed. The game is totally different if Iglesias comes in with a one or two run lead in a save opportunity. That is always how it seems to work with closers. I bet the Braes win that game if they get the lead going into the ninth. That was incredibly frustrating and disappointing. I also thought Eli should have a good chance at scoring. I wonder if that’s another consequence of losing Wash.
Regarding why Eli White didn’t score on Olson’s double…I was wondering the same thing. ESPN didn’t go back and show us what he was doing. Holding up in case the ball was caught? Admiring what might have been a home run? Kind of defeats the purpose of having a pinch runner, but it’s a very moot point now.
Losing sucks, but I wasn’t expecting the Braves to sweep the Dodgers. Let’s hope the breaks go Atlanta’s way tonight!
Albies to Gwinnett Tue and Wed for rehab stint. Chatter is that Merrifield would move to left when Ozzie is back. That’s like the dumbest idea ever, so it’s probably true. Well, maybe it’s not that dumb. When all options are equally bad, what can you really do?
Win tonight and last night is a distant memory. Let’s go.
I’d much rather see a platoon at second. Let Ozzie start against lefties only and then use Merrifield against righties.
Ozzie’s defense was bad enough before the injury so I’d also have Merrifield in for defense late.
Lead off walk, sleeping with a guy on 2nd that steals 3rd, wild pitch. Just how you draw it up on the mound…smh. We haven’t been mentally sharp all season
This team makes the worst base-running decisions I’ve ever seen. Poor instincts and Tui just seems very bad at his job.
Worse than Snit was by far. He runs us out of so many innings.
The nonsense of this team includes the coaching staff as well. You do not make the first or last out at home, particularly with your 3 and 4 hitters coming up. Unbelievable…
May have been listening to the complaints about not sending White last night with 0 outs.
This may be the worst team I’ve ever seen with RISP. They forget how to baseball every time.
Leadoff triple. How are we going to blow this?
It starts with Sean Murphy flailing outside the zone. And then Arcia opens his AB by swinging out of his shoes.
0-for-10 with RISP. This isn’t bad luck. What’s left of this team just stinks.
2-0. Ballgame.
I keep saying I’m going to stop watching, and yet I can’t. But maybe it’s time to just watch other teams for the final fortnight. I adore baseball, but I abhor the way this team plays the sport.
Oh, don’t pretend you don’t already know. Murphy and Arcia swinging out of their shoes
EDIT: It’s funny we posted the exact same phrase at the same time. It is what it is
Why does Seitzer still get a pass? These poor approaches are a reflect his “teachings”. Swing hard in case you hit it doesn’t work anymore, especially with this bunch.
I constantly remind myself that I am in no position to criticize Major League hitters, but I have come here to say that Orlando Arcia has me on the verge of breaking the habit of a lifetime.
So far this has been the quintessential 2024 Braves game. It’s paradigmatic, if not archetypal. The Platonic Ideal of this season’s offensive futility.
Going into this game, Aaron Bummer had a 3.25 ERA and a 1.90 FIP; even now, after giving up a 3-run homer, his ERA is still just 3.71.
He is, by far, the single worst pitcher I have ever seen with an ERA under four. He makes Chris Reitsma, whose good stuff was perennially betrayed by bad luck and an inability to put guys away when it counted, look like Mariano Rivera.
Aaron Bummer is never, ever the answer.
Unless the question is, “We’re behind; how do we remove all doubt about defeat?”
Then what do you make of a 1.9 FIP?
EDIT: I think I would understand more “the single worst pitcher with an FIP under 2”. His BABIP is .400 and he has a ground ball percentage of 60%. He’s really good at getting the ball on the ground and it’s bizarrely good at getting through.
Yes, exactly. He’s had truly awful luck, but he gives up tons of contact and doesn’t get a lot of chase. His baseball-savant page is extraordinary – it’s the greatest amount of red I’ve ever seen for a pitcher who’s a walking meltdown.
He doesn’t give up a ton of hard contact, per Savant, and tonight notwithstanding, his HR rate this year is almost absurdly low; he really has been inordinately unlucky. But he has an unfailing ability to walk into a situation and make it worse.
No reason to get upset. We can’t score more than 2 runs most nights. Whether the other team score 3 or 12 it’s the same outcome. Season will be over soon and we can start getting excited about what will hopefully be an eventful winter. Need new blood in a lot of areas. Just too much bad luck this year.
The Mets have gained 1.5 games and the Braves have been outscored 18-0 since the bottom of the eighth inning last night. Eli White and a craptastic bottom of the lineup were the final straws.
recapped. ugh.