Braves Briefing: Where does Atlanta rank after dropping four straight?

We all know that dropping four in a row, including a sweep against the Toronto Blue Jays, is not anything to make you feel better about the team that you root for.

Despite all of that, in MLB.com's weekly Power Rankings, Atlanta stayed put as their second-best team in all of baseball. They, of course, trail the Tampa Bay Rays, who started the season 13-0 and currently sit 31-11, including an absurd 19-3 at Tropicana Field.

Here's what MLB.com's Paul Casella wrote about his decision to keep Atlanta at two in the rankings.

It was a forgettable weekend north of the border for the Braves, whose walk-off loss on Sunday capped a three-game sweep at the hands of the surging Blue Jays. Atlanta has lost four straight overall, though it still sits atop the National League East -- and just a half-game back of the Dodgers for the best record in the NL. Ronald Acuña Jr. remains the NL MVP favorite, as he enters the week hitting .346 with a 1.014 OPS. With eight home runs and 17 stolen bases through 40 games, he's on pace for a 32-homer, 68-steal campaign.

NL East Standings

Team	Record	GB	Action Today
Atlanta	25-15	-	@ Texas
Philadelphia	20-20	5.0	@ San Francisco
Miami	20-21	5.5	Hosts Washington
NYM	20-21	5.5	@ Washington
Washington	17-23	8.0	Hosts NYM

We wrote it

Braves Today Editor-In-Chief Lindsay Crosby handled Sunday's action and discussed the Braves bullpen in his takeaways. He mentioned that it worked but asked if it was sustainable.

Atlanta uses six pitchers to get through nine innings, with a good bit of Atlanta's bullpen getting extended run in the outing. Michael Tonkin carried the load, giving Atlanta 3.1 innings with three hits and only one run, the Springer solo shot.

McHugh's line looked better than it actually was, as we mentioned above: He officially went 1.2 innings with six hits and three runs, but none of the three (all in the 2nd inning) were earned.

The bullpen game isn't to blame for the blown save - Iglesias hadn't pitched since Wednesday and only Chavez pitched on back to back days in the outing - but it definitely impacted bullpen decisions over the weekend. Today's bullpen game now leaves the Atlanta armbarn in a scenario where every pitcher has thrown at least 20 pitches in one of the last two days, with three more games left on the road trip.

Check out the full slate of Crosby's takeaways.

Watch Atlanta Braves highlights vs Toronto

How to watch Atlanta vs Texas

Atlanta heads to Arlington for a three-game set with the AL West-leading Texas Rangers. First pitch in Monday's game one is scheduled for 8:05 ET and the game broadcast with Voice of the Braves Brandon Gaudin, is available inside Braves Country on Bally Sports South and is available on MLB.TV outside of the broadcast area. 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.

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