Braves' Biggest Stars Have One Game Left to Save Their Season

ATLANTA – The Atlanta Braves’ season will hang in the balance on Wednesday night against the two-time defending World Series champions after another sluggish offensive performance in Game 3 of the National League Division Series.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Los Angeles Dodgers pitching staff snuffed out the Braves’ offense in a 3-1 loss at Truist Park, and the top of Atlanta's lineup is still searching for its footing in this series with no time left to lose.

After carrying the front of the lineup for a 94-win club, Drake Baldwin, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Matt Olson have a combined nine hits in 56 at-bats (.161 average) in the playoffs.

Hitting is at a premium in the postseason, but the Braves' critical trio has continued to struggle at the top of Atlanta's lineup, combining for 1-for-11 with an RBI and a walk. All three players have struggled to find their groove, going back to an equally poor showing against the Philadelphia Phillies in the Wild Card round.

“Yeah, look, those guys have been our aircraft carriers all year,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said after the game. “Every time one of those guys steps in the box, I think something good is going to happen. But we faced some pretty good pitching; that had something to do with it.”

When healthy, Acuña has been the Braves superstar, but just not in the postseason – the slugger has failed to drive in a run since 2020 (over the course of four series), a remarkable drought for a player of his caliber.

His biggest chance to change that narrative came in the fifth inning when his squad was down two runs and poised for a rally. Acuña came to the plate with runners on second and third, but he grounded out to second base, ending the inning.

Acuña played through some knee soreness that forced him into a designated hitter role and was unavailable for comment after the game.

“Just gotta get some hits in key moments,” third baseman Austin Riley said in the clubhouse after the game. “Gotta get guys comfortable, simple as that. We had some opportunities tonight, and didn’t get it done. Tomorrow, we’ve gotta come out and win; simple as that.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made it clear after his club's Game 3 win that they will never rest easy with those guys at the top of the lineup, acknowledging the “fight” still to come.

“They’re still the Braves, and you can never take these guys lightly,” he said. “They’re going to fight – Acuña can always break out, I think Drake is a special young hitter and young player, and Olson is such a pro, and he can hurt you at any time.”

Despite their prolonged postseason issues, Weiss remains confident the switch can flip at any point: “But those guys,” he said, “they're always one at-bat away from changing a game.”

Unfortunately, time for any surge is running out quickly.

Enjoy our content? Make BravesOnSI a Preferred Source to see more stories from us on Google: https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=si.com

Add us as a preferred source on Google