The Braves once again lost last night to the Giants in heartbreaking fashion. After being held scoreless for the first seven innings and trailing by three runs, they finally broke through in the top half of the eighth. Dansby Swanson delivered with the bases loaded, cutting the lead to one and putting runners on first and second for Austin Riley with nobody out, but the Braves couldn’t push another run across and fell in San Francisco 3-2.
What makes it even more disappointing is the Mets also lost to the Cubs, so the Braves missed an opportunity to trim a game off their division lead, but I wanted to focus on something that took place in the top half of the ninth inning. With the Braves attempting to tie the game, Brian Snitker had two guys warming up in the bullpen — Raisel Iglesias and Kenley Jansen.
This might actually be worse than the loss. Jansen has been a bonafide mess in his last seven appearances, blowing three saves and boasting an ERA north of 11. He has no command of his pitches, and they just aren’t moving as they have in the past. There is no reason, especially after what happened on Sunday in Seattle, that he should have been used in a tight game last night.
I thought for sure Sunday’s game would be the straw that broke the camel’s back, but it looks like Snitker has other plans. He’s hellbent on sticking with Kenley Jansen, just as he did last season with Will Smith. It worked for him in the playoffs last year, but I’m not sure lightning will strike twice. Snitker also didn’t have an option like Raisel Iglesias to use in 2021 either. Sticking with Jansen is a mistake, and if he continues to blow games down the stretch, Snitker deserves all the blame.
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Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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