Takeaway: Braves bats go quiet as they fall to the Padres in game three of the series

A couple of defensive miscues, paired with a rough night at the plate, led the Braves to a loss on a cold night in Atlanta

Author:
Dan Strickland
Apr 8, 2023 10:35 PM EDT

The Atlanta Braves drop game three of their series against the San Diego Padres, 4-1, on Saturday night in Truist Park. Here's what you need to know from the contest:

Offense Goes Cold as Wacha Rolls

Michael Wacha was nearly untouchable on the mound for the Padres. He went six innings, allowing only two hits while racking up ten strikeouts. He looked dominant, and the Braves simply didn’t have an answer for him. Matt Olson was the bright spot in the Braves lineup, going three for four at the plate and accounting for three of the Braves five hits. He also had the lone RBI in the eighth inning after his single scored Sam Hilliard.

Defensive Miscues

The Braves have looked nearly perfect in the field so far this season. Their sweep of the Cardinals earlier this week featured some of the best defense by a Braves team in recent memory. The Braves did not have quite the same sharpness defensively tonight. There were two close plays at home plate where Travis d’Arnaud could not secure the throw and make the tag. The second play resulted in a collision that ultimately led to d’Arnaud leaving the game and Sean Murphy taking his place.

UPDATE (Postgame): Travis d'Arnaud will likely go on the 7-day concussion IL - he's had multiple concussions in his career, and the Braves will want to be cautious in this situation.

Honoring Henry Aaron

The Braves wore their new City Connect jerseys tonight for the first time this season. The jerseys are a throwback to the one worn by Henry “Hank” Aaron and the 1974 Braves. It was fitting that tonight was the first time to wear the new jerseys because today is the 49^th anniversary of Hank Aaron hitting his 715^th home run to break Babe Ruth’s home run record on April 8, 1974. Mr. Aaron’s widow, Billye Aaron, was in attendance tonight to watch the Braves battle the Padres.

What's next?

ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball rolls into town for the series finale, as Atlanta sends prospect lefty Dylan Dodd to the mound against righty Seth Lugo for the Padres. Game time is 7:10PM ET, and the national broadcast is available on ESPN. The radio call with Ben Ingram is available locally on 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan or outside the Atlanta market on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network or MLB.com.