Three Cuts: Braves' mini-slide hits 3 after wild home loss to Pirates
ATLANTA -- Here are three detailed takes from the Braves' 10-8 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday -- a wild-and-wacky home defeat which precluded Atlanta from, once again, reaching the .500 mark:
This is what makes baseball so fascinating.
It's eminently possible the Braves won't encounter the above scenario again -- in defeat -- for the remainder of the season.
And yet, the Pirates fortuitously had enough oomph to overcome their many miscues, escape major damage at nearly every turn and collect their 30th victory of the year.
As such, Pittsburgh (30-24) can bask in the glow of sticking with the National League's upper-echelon clubs -- St. Louis, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington and New York Mets -- knowing at least one of the premier teams won't make the postseason party come October.
So, how did the Braves lose control of a game that would typically (read: almost always) result in victory? The tent-pole timeline suggests it was a cumulative effect, more than one desultory event:
**Pitcher Williams Perez wasn't sharp in his fourth career start, surrendering four earned runs and five walks in five innings. As part of that, his seasonal ERA rose nearly a full point -- from 2.66 to 3.55.
The big blow: With Pittsburgh trailing 3-1 in the 5th, second baseman Neil Walker launched a three-run homer off Perez. In a flash, the Pirates had taken over a game that appeared hopeless from the start.
"(Our pitching) got exposed a little bit," said Braves skipper Fredi Gonzalez, when talking about how Perez's short outing put more pressure on the Atlanta bullpen.
**Luis Avilan didn't fare well in just 1/3 inning of work, giving up a tie-breaking, two-run homer to Starling Marte in the 6th. To be fair, it was the first home run allowed by Avilan since July 7 of last year (against the Mets).
"This is the big leagues ... you can't make a mistake" without paying for it, said Avilan in the post-game media session.
**The Braves grounded into four double plays , including the 9th, when pinch-hitter Joey Terdoslavich -- who was promoted from the minors earlier Friday -- ended the action with a 6-3 DP.
**Pittsburgh enjoyed a decisive 4-1 edge in the category of "two-out RBI," which sort of the purpose of Atlanta racking up 14 hits.
Citing their three-game slide, dating back to the tail end of the West Coast swing, the Braves bullpen has a sky-high ERA of 10.80 ERA -- giving up 12 runs in 10 innings. Ouch.
Friday's mixed results didn't help that figure, either. Brandon Cunniff was effective in the sixth inning, retiring his two Pirates batters. But Avilan had been tasked with finishing the frame ... which only occurred after surrendering a single to Gregory Polanco and the aforementioned homer to Marte.
For Trevor Cahill's two-inning stint, he was perfect in the 7th. But the 8th was a flop, as Cahill allowed four singles, one steal and an RBI double from former MVP Andrew McCutchen, who seemingly put the game out of reach -- at 9-5.
Nick Masset wasn't markedly better. In the 9th, a Josh Harrison double and RBI single from Francisco Cervelli (four hits on the night) gave Pittsburgh more cushion to solidify the victory.
"(The bullpen) had five opportunities to get shut-down innings ... and we only got one," lamented Gonzalez.
When pressed for his assessment of Friday's defeat, leadoff man Cameron Maybin (one run, three hits) was upbeat and diplomatic.
"Our job is to continue to pick (the pitchers) up," said Maybin. "It's frustrating to lose like that; but we can't spend much time dwelling on that ... because tomorrow's going to sneak right up on us."
He then added: "It's a group (loss) -- you win as a team and lose as a team."
On May 29, Freddie Freeman was stuck in a sustained rut, posting a porous batting average of .195 over the previous 17 days -- while also going homerless during that stretch.
Adding to the pain, Freeman was sitting at 0 for 3 during that May 29 outing against the Giants, destined for a hitless night against the defending champs.
But everything changed in the ninth inning. With Atlanta down 4-1, Freeman crushed a solo blast to dead-center field, making the loss slightly more palatable on the scoreboard (4-2).
At the time, it seemed like an isolated event. Instead, it fueled a much-needed swing in momentum.
Counting that May 29 homer, along with Friday's tally (one run, two hits) ... Freeman has been hitting at a .444 clip (11 for 25), along with five homers and 10 RBI.
As such, the Braves have averaged 7.7 runs in their last six games -- a noticeable uptick from the first two months of the season ... when Atlanta tallied three or fewer runs 26 times (out of 48 games).
It goes without saying: If the Braves harbor realistic hopes of staying at/going beyond the .500 mark from this point forward, Freeman must be a driving-force component to that level of success.
Otherwise, there will simply be more EKG experieces like Friday -- when Atlanta (26-28, 3rd in National League East) bore the look of a sure winner and certain loser for equal parts of the night.
