The Braves have now had a few losses that have left most of the fan base totally speechless, and last night’s may have been the worst of the bunch.
After a magnificent start from Charlie Morton and a fantastic day at the plate from Michael Harris, Atlanta cruised out to a 5-1 lead against the Detroit Tigers, who entered Monday losers of eight straight games. But if you’ve paid much attention to the Braves this season, that hasn’t often mattered. It’s usually been the downright terrible clubs that Atlanta has struggled with, not the teams in playoff contention.
Monday night was no different; it all spiraled out of control in a heartbeat. Raisel Iglesias entered the game in the ninth inning with a three-run lead. The Braves closer hadn’t given up an earned run since a May 14th outing in Toronto and had allowed just two hits over that span. Unfortunately, that didn’t matter to what has been a lifeless Tigers offense of late. A two-run homer quickly cut the lead to one run, and Detroit was able to scratch together three more singles to tie the game in the ninth.
To make matters worse, the Braves couldn’t get the runner in from second to start the tenth after Sam Hilliard was thrown out on a close play at the plate. It was probably the ugliest 30 minutes of Braves baseball this season, and the Tigers were able to capitalize in the bottom half of the inning, walking the game off with a fly ball to center field that Michael Harris didn’t even attempt to catch.
For a team that was playing so well entering the game, it was an odd turn of events for the Braves. However, the most important storyline might not even be the loss. In his second at-bat of the game, Marcell Ozuna was struck in the hand with a pitch. He stayed in the game to run the bases but was eventually removed.
Originally, the Braves announced that he was day-to-day with a right hand contusion. However, the reports after the game were much more grim. Brian Snitker told reporters that he will go to the hospital to undergo further tests, and that he couldn’t even take off his batting guard once he got back to the dugout. That’s not a good sign, especially for a player that has been one of the hottest in baseball since the calendar turned to May.
The Braves should be able to manage without Ozuna, with Travis d’Arnaud serving as the primary DH. But given how much Ozuna has been through to get back to where he is today, one has to wonder if he will be able to find that same groove if he has to miss significant time. Hopefully, the Braves provide some more positive updates on the situation, but I would be lying if I said I am expecting it.
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Photo: John Adams/Icon Sportswire
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