Walt Weiss Addresses Bullpen Meltdown, Lack of Power in Lineup

Through six innings of Thursday night's game against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Atlanta Braves were in position to pick up a needed series win. It would have meant winning the first two games in July. After a horrid finish to June, it would have made for a nice boost.

Then, a seventh inning melt down squashed the hopes to continue turning the page. The bullpen allowed seven runs in the seventh inning, along with another run in the ninth. A 5-3 lead slowly and painfully became an 11-5 loss.

"We scored five in the first and their starter is out of the game in the first. I mean, you're usually going to win that game. But obviously the game took an ugly turn in the seventh."

Weiss said the plan had been Dylan Lee and Didier Fuentes in the eighth and the ninth, depending on what part of the order was due up. However, once the lead was gone, Weiss opted to bring Lee in early and worry about what was next after that.

Lee ended up having a polar-opposite night to what he's been expected to do. He allowed three runs and recorded only one out.

Weiss acknowledged that Lee has seen a lot of action lately. He hasn't had more than two days of rest since June 20 and has had to go more than three outs a handful of time. Now that he's thrown 20 pitches in a night, they'll have to be mindful.

"So, it's something we got to keep an eye on and something we always talk about - trying to keep these guys strong, you know, all the way through," Weiss said.

Lack of Power as of Late

The long ball has been hard to come by as of late. Matt Olson's last home run was on June 12. Michael Harris has one home run since May 28. Drake Baldwin homered in his first at-bat back, and that's been it.

It's been a key culprit for the Braves offensive woes the last few weeks. That big hit just isn't coming. Weiss couldn't pinpoint why this was the case.

"I think we've been better at scoring in a variety of ways this year, for the most part, before the last couple of weeks. But yeah, I mean, I think power, like offense, can come and go and yeah, we're you know, our typical selves as far as putting the ball in the seats right now."

Granted, the Braves put up five runs in the first, and that should have been enough. But the lack of pop, like starting pitching, was one of their greater issues last season. Even with the deeper bench and more diverse offense, it's going to be hard to win games without it.

The Braves recent moves were designed to help shake things up without home runs. Jarvis added more ability to just get on base and provide more speed.

"I just think it's a good complement to what the other guys do," Weiss said. "And I like him down near the bottom of the order becase he can turn that lineup over and you can be on base there for the big boys, when it rolls over."

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