Braves offense sputters, drop series finale to White Sox
The Atlanta Braves had won 11 consecutive series heading into their series against the White Sox. Unfortunately, that streak ended as Chicago was all over Kolby Allard and the Braves on Sunday. There was even an appearance by Charlie Culberson in this game.
For the first time since May, the Atlanta Braves have lost a series, dropping Sunday's contest against the Chicago White Sox, 8-1.
The loss is the second in a row for the Braves, making them 61-31 on the year. The White Sox are now 40-55 after the win.
After a scoreless first inning by both sides, Chicago jumped on Kolby Allard with a four-run second inning. Jake Burger opened the scoring with a two-run, 461-foot homer to center. Burger has homered in back-to-back days against the Braves. Allard got two of the next three batters out, before giving up three straight singles that would end his afternoon. He was removed from the game with left shoulder tightness after 1.2 innings, allowing seven hits and four earned runs.
LHP Kolby Allard was removed from today’s game due to left shoulder tightness.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 16, 2023
Collin McHugh entered the game and got the Braves out of the second and threw a scoreless third inning as well. Atlanta chipped into the Chicago lead after Matt Olson picked up his NL-best 77th RBI of the season, driving in Ozzie Albies with a single to right field. That's all the offense the Braves could muster on Sunday afternoon.
The White Sox tagged McHugh for two runs to extend their lead in the 4th, with RBI singles from Andrew Benintendi and Gavin Sheets putting them up 6-1 in Atlanta. Luis Robert Jr. put the cherry on top of a dominant win for Chicago in the 6th, taking Michael Soroka deep for his 27th home run of the season.
Besides the lackluster pitching, the Braves biggest issue was once again a poor performance with runners in scoring position. Atlanta ended the day 1-5 with RISP, while the White Sox finished 5-9 on the day.
The Braves get Monday off before another three-game homestand at Truist Park. Atlanta hosts the Arizona Diamondbacks starting on Tuesday, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:20 p.m. ET.