Braves Find Yet Another Way to Lose

As the saying goes, when it rains, it pours.

The Atlanta Braves lost, yet again, by a run, 4-3, against the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. The Braves have suffered seven consecutive losses, including five straight by one run.

But the team still found a slightly different way to drop Sunday's series finale in San Francisco -- poor defense.

The Braves led 3-1 in the fourth inning when starting pitcher Spencer Strider began the frame with a pair of walks. Strider, though, was a pitch away from getting out of the jam thanks to Atlanta's defense.

Right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. made a terrific diving catch that not only gave Strider the first out of the inning but didn't allow the runners to advance.

In the next at-bat, the Giants runners did move up a base each, but third baseman Austin Riley recorded an out on a throw to first.

However, similar to the end of games lately, the Braves just couldn't execute enough to fully get out of the fourth inning with the lead.

Giants' Mike Yastrezemski doubled to tie the game with two outs in the next at-bat. Then, San Francisco's Tyler Fitzgerald reached on an error.

Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies kicked the ball so badly on Fitzgerald's grounder that Yastrezemski scored from second. The Giants took a 4-3 lead, and that was the end of the scoring.

Giants take the lead on an Ozzie Albies error pic.twitter.com/7bmqxSi5NK
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 8, 2025

After Thursday's one-run loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters his club wasn't a bad team but a good team playing badly.

Snitker should know far more about his club than me, but at this point, I just can't agree.

Good teams don't lose in all the different ways the Braves have during just a week. In San Francisco alone, the Braves lost three games because of their bullpen and defense.

The offense didn't exactly pull its weight either. The Braves were 3-for-22 with runners in scoring position versus the Giants.

For the weekend series, the #Braves were 3-22 with runners in scoring position (one hit each game)

They have now lost:
Seven in a row
Five straight lost by one run
10 consecutive one-run games
14 of the last 17 games

They are:
0-7 in June
9-19 in one-run games
6-16 since…
— BillShanks (@BillShanks) June 8, 2025

Good teams respond when they are punched in the mouth like they were Thursday. In the Braves case, they appear to be flat lining.

They now sit 10 games below .500 for the first time since 2017. That's hard to believe. Before the season, I was fully sold that even in the difficult National League East they could win 95 games.

They might not win 75. Not unless they stop playing like a bad baseball team.