On August 3, the Braves were five games behind the Phillies, who led the National League East, and appeared to be attempting another late comeback in the division rankings.
Oh, how quickly everything may change.
Following Thursday’s 16-7 loss to the Brewers at Truist Park, which completed Milwaukee’s three-game sweep, Atlanta will go on a 10-day road trip behind the Mets for third place in the NL Wild Card rankings. Atlanta has not had a playoff spot since June 10, 2022.
The Mets (61-54) are in exclusive possession of the third and final NL Wild Card slot, as well as second place in the NL East, behind Atlanta (60-54) by half a game.
Atlanta has dropped five straight games, marking the team’s second losing streak of five or more since the All-Star break.
After losing a weekend series to the Nationals, Milwaukee came into Atlanta and outscored the Braves 34-12. The Brewers scored ten runs on Tuesday, eight on Wednesday, and sixteen on Thursday.
The Brewers hit 52 times in three games against Atlanta’s pitching staff. Milwaukee had 16 hits in games 1 and 2, and 20 hits in game 3. Atlanta had 26 hits in the series overall.
Milwaukee blasted a season-high six home runs and had 20 hits in the season finale.
It was tied for the most runs allowed by the Braves in a single game this season. Atlanta surrendered 16 runs to the Mets on April 11.
“It was a combination of both [the Braves struggling and the Brewers playing well],” Braves manager Brian Snitker explained. “We weren’t particularly good. “That may be an understatement today.”
If the Phillies win against the Diamondbacks on Thursday night, Atlanta may fall 8 1/2 games behind in the NL East.
“That’s how quickly things can change,” Snitker explained. “This is why you should never take anything for granted. I keep saying, ‘Hopefully, we’ll turn things around.'”
Charlie Morton battled again Thursday. He pitched only 2 2/3 innings, giving up eight earned runs on nine hits while striking out three and walking one. Four of the nine hits were longballs.
Morton gave up three runs in the first inning, three in the second, and two in the third.
The first five runs all came with two outs. In the first inning, William Contreras smashed a two-run home run, and Jackson Chorurio followed suit in the second. Garrett Mitchell followed Chourio with a solo homer, marking the Brewers’ third back-to-back this season.
Morton lasted only two and a third innings for the second time in his past three appearances. He was pulled in the third inning of a July 26 defeat to the Mets after allowing seven runs (five earned) on six hits, including three home runs.
“I look back and the way my ball is spinning, the way the ball is moving, I think it’s no better or worse than normal,” says Morton. “I think the Brewers are a really good team.” Today’s windows were not very large. They are really patient. There wasn’t much chase. There were a number of deep counts and foul balls called.”
Morton made way for right-handed reliever Parker Dunshee, who made his MLB debut.
Dunshee recorded his first three Major League strikeouts in the top of the fourth, but he was welcomed into the big club in the top of the fifth, allowing five runs, including two two-run home runs, one of which was Chourio’s second of the game.
Frankie Montas, the Brewers starting pitcher, did not allow a hit until the bottom of the third inning. After walking Whit Merrifield and Jarred Kelenic, Austin Riley hit a three-run home run to bring the score to 8-3. The Braves rallied one run in the seventh and three in the eighth, but it was too late.
“They did everything right and we couldn’t get anything going,” Riley said. “It was not a really good series. We’ll try to flush it and proceed to [Friday].”
Strikeouts remain a concern for a Braves squad that led in several statistical categories a year ago. Atlanta batters struck out 35 times in the Brewers series and 55 times during their losing run.
“I thought we’d made some ground and those first two games [against the Marlins] were really good, offensively,” Riley informed the crowd. “We were swinging and hit a wall. The Brewers were doing a lot of things correctly, but we couldn’t get anything going. We get to play on Friday, so we’ll attempt to have a short memory.”
