Braves Today

Atlanta Braves End Home Stand On a Low Note

Luke Jackson took the loss as the Atlanta Braves failed to close out their successful homestand with another win.

Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Luke Jackson took the loss in the series finale with the Washington Nationals on Sunday.
Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Luke Jackson took the loss in the series finale with the Washington Nationals on Sunday. / Mady Mertens-USA TODAY Sports
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The Atlanta Braves fell to the Washington National 5-1 to miss out on a sweep and end their strong home stand on a high note. They still head to Minnesota with another winning series, but the timing cost them another game back in the standings with the Phillies winning.

A solo shot by Matt Olson is all the offense could muster today.

Add another rough night by reliever Luke Jackson, who gave up three runs in the seventh, and a strong outing by Reynaldo Lopez goes to waste. Nothing about this re-acquisition is looking good in any fashion. 

He was used in the seventh inning instead of the usual go-to arm, Jesse Chavez. He hadn’t pitched in 10 days, and manager Brian Snitker still opted to go with Jackson. Hard to understand this decision beyond seeing if it’ll work this time around. 

To add insult to injury, literally, Michael Harris II took a pitch off his left hand. He didn’t have a fracture, but the result is he will be day-to-day. So, the Braves might be without him for a couple games again. 

One piece of positive news came on Sunday - Marcell Ozuna had ice wrapped around his shin. However, he’s expected to stay in the lineup and will play on Monday. Given that he’s the cornerstone of this lineup, they dodge a major bullet. 

If any takeaway could be made, it’s that this team looks a lot better overall, but they’re still having their moments that have plagued them all season. 

As a result, they are six games back of the Phillies yet again - they smoked a strong Royals team in Kansas City 11-3. It feels like that five-games-back mark is a massive hurdle for them. Fortunately, they have the time to still get over that hurdle. Just need to take advantage of that time. Even with Sunday’s loss, they’re slowly starting to do so. 

The Mets lost 3-2 to the Padres. So the Braves lost ground for the No. 2 Wild Card but kept the Mets 2.5 games out of a playoff spot.

The Braves return to action when they start a road series with the Minnesota Twins on Monday. First pitch is set for 7:40 p.m. EST. 

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