Braves Fall Flat With Disastrous Performance as Phillies Leave Door Open in NL East

The Atlanta Braves have lost five straight after suffering a series sweep against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves didn't give up on potentially salvaging the series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday. They scored seven runs after falling behind by eight.

But that's a small consolation prize in a playoff race.

The Braves dropped Thursday's matchup with the Brewers, 16-7, which completed a 3-game sweep for Milwaukee at Truist Park. The Brewers lead the NL Central, but that didn't make the sweep any less embarrassing for Atlanta.

The Braves lost the series by a composite score of 34-12. They have lost five in a row, and the four most recent losses during the skid have all been by at least five runs.

This slump arrived just after the Braves won four straight, including two against the Brewers in Milwaukee last week. If that doesn't summarize this team's inconsistencies, nothing will.

After finishing July and beginning August winners of six of seven to creep within 5 games of the Philadelphia Phillies, the Braves have fallen back to 8 games out of first place in the National League East. The Phillies' lead in the division has increased despite the fact they have won only three of their last 10 games.

What's worse, the Braves have dropped out of the top NL wild card spot and into a tie for the last playoff position in the league. As of 4 pm ET, the Braves were tied with the New York Mets for that spot, and the Mets held a 5-0 lead against the Colorado Rockies in the third inning.

If the Mets should win, the Braves will wake up Friday not in a playoff position.

Even with all of the team's injuries this year, that's a near unbelieveable fact this late in the season. There's still 48 games remaining, but Braves fans must begin to accept that this team could very well not play October baseball this year.

Next up for the Braves is a long West coast trip. Perhaps that's just what the team needs. The Braves are 3-9 at Truist Park since the All-Star break. There are also some cupcakes on Atlanta's upcoming slate.

First, the Braves will visit the Colorado Rockies this weekend for a 3-game series and then the San Francisco Giants for a 4-game slate. They will finish the road trip with three games against the Los Angeles Angels.

None of those teams are in playoff positioning. The Rockies and Angels each have a win percentage below .450. Colorado is not even close to that mark, as the Rockies are more than 30 games below .500.

The Braves will have an opportunity to right the ship. But they missed an opportunity to further shorten the gap between themselves and the Phillies. Now, just making the playoffs in any capacity seems like it will be quite the accomplishment for these Braves.