Just a week ago, things were looking up for the Atlanta Braves. They had won four straight games, taken a series from the Brewers, and looked well on their way towards another series win over the lowly Marlins. With the Phillies struggling to do much of anything, making a run for the top of the NL East didn't seem completely out of the question.
Unfortunately, the last three games have not gone nearly as well. With the bats going cold once again, the Braves lost a close game on Saturday and then got routed on Sunday during Max Fried's return from the IL. One hoped that having an off day on Monday would allow Atlanta to regroup and get back on track.
Instead, the Braves were forced to send Bryce Elder to the mound on Tuesday and when the dust settled, Atlanta suffered arguably one of it's worst losses of the season and now their playoff aspirations hang in the balance.
Brewers' demolition of the Braves could haunt Atlanta down the stretch
While it is understandable that the Braves wanted to give their starters extra rest for the stretch run, Elder's start clearly wasn't what Atlanta was looking for. By the bottom of the third inning, the Braves were already down 6-0 and the game was essentially over. The offense didn't help matters as they only scratched together six hits and got shut out for the second straight game.
All of a sudden, the Braves' playoff hopes are hanging by a thread. Fangraphs has the Braves with a 79.7% chance of making the playoffs still and they are currently in the final wild card spot, but the Mets are lurking just 1.5 games back for that final playoff spot and the way the Braves are playing, it sure doesn't feel like that lead will hold unless the Mets give us yet another spectacular collapse.
Ultimately, injuries are largely to blame for what we are seeing. Few teams could weather losing talents of the level of Ronald Acuna Jr., Spencer Strider, Ozzie Albies, and Michael Harris II for as long as the Braves have. However, performances like Sunday can't solely be blamed on injuries and there have been just too many duds the last couple of months.
The Braves have a real chance to get back on track with Cy Young frontrunner Chris Sale on the mound. Atlanta has some guys that have had success against Freddy Peralta as well which can't hurt. If the Braves can rally to win this series, they could put themselves in a good position heading into the final weeks of the season. If they keep fumbling the bag, don't be surprised if the Braves could be on the outside of the playoff picture in the next week looking for