Braves Bats Miss Key Chances Again in Loss to Phillies

The Atlanta Braves' offense is starting to show some moments, but things aren't fully coming together yet

It's getting there but not quickly enough for the Braves | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Braves drop the middle game of their series with the Phillies, 4-3. They were in it to the finish, but multiple major opportunities to put runs on the board slipped away again. They’re now 0-4 in one-run ballgames. 

A night after they put seven runs on the board, they were unable to follow it up.

“We had the deck stacked in our favor a couple times,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We just couldn’t pierce the gap, hit a big hit. Things that have been haunting us since the beginning of this year.” 

The Braves finished 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left a whopping 12 runners on base. They had the bases loaded in the bottom of the third with two outs and Austin Riley popped out. 

Sean Murphy singled to put the lead-off man on in the bottom of the fourth, and a double play followed to kill the momentum. 

There were two on in the fifth. They had runners at the corners in the ninth inning. They had nothing to show for it in those situations. 

In the moments they were able to capitalize on, Orlando tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single, and Michael Harris II gave the Braves a 2-1 lead on a sac-fly. 

After they fell behind again, 3-2, Austin Riley gave them another moment of hope with a solo shot in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game. Again, they had moments, but that was all they could muster. 

Riley's home run emphasizes a power outage early in the year. He's the first player to hit his second home run of the season. Matt Olson and Marcell Ozuna are each on pace for just 16 home runs this season.

It wasn’t fully on them. Two hung pitches over the heart of the plate killed the bullpen again. Bryce Harper and Trea Turner were able to translate those into home runs and three RBIs that put the Phillies just over the top. 

However, this game was winnable despite that. It shouldn’t have to take five or more runs every time, but they had the chance to put it away a few times. To go a step further, five runs weren't even enough on Tuesday night, but it would have been on Wednesday night.

There are signs of improvement on offense. Riley is starting to see the ball better at the plate. Murphy has been contributing nicely in his return and Arcia is showing life again. But it's not fully clicking yet.

The Braves take on the Phillies one last time this series in a rubber match on Thursday. Spencer Scwellenbach (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will take the mound looking to continue his dominant run early in the year. First pitch is set for 7:15 p.m.