ATLANTA -- Scoring five runs for a second straight night gave the Braves reason to feel better about their recently dormant offense. Doing so also covered the only rough patch that Hurston Waldrep encountered during what was an otherwise impressive start.
But just when it looked like the Braves might win consecutive games for just the second time since June 19-20, the offense went silent and their short-handed bullpen proved to be problematic. Unfortunately for Dylan Lee, his All-Star resume was tarnished during the 11-5 loss to the Cardinals on Thursday night at Truist Park.
"When you score five in the first and their starter is out of the game in the first, you’re usually going to win that game,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “But the game obviously took an ugly turn in the seventh.”
Here are three takeaways from what was the Braves’ 14th loss in their past 19 games:
One of those nights
Lee has been one of the game’s top relievers. He entered this series finale with a .206 Expected Weighted On-Base Average (xwOBA). That ranked second only to San Diego closer Mason Miller (.173). Looking at ERA among qualified relievers, Lee’s 0.99 ERA ranked third, trailing teammate Robert Suarez (0.56) and Miller (0.78).
The Braves have been without Suarez for nearly two weeks, and he won’t return from the injured list until after the All-Star break. His absence played a part in the Braves being short-handed on Thursday. Closer Raisel Iglesias and Dylan Dodd had both pitched the past two nights. As for rookie Didier Fuentes, the Braves chose not to pitch him on consecutive days for what would have been just the second time this season.
So, after Tyler Kinley surrendered a game-tying homer to Nathan Church in the seventh inning, Lee entered with one on and none out. The left-hander allowed three consecutive singles and recorded just one out while facing four batters. He ended up allowing three runs over just one-third of an inning. That’s one fewer earned run than he had allowed over his previous 38 innings (137 batters faced) this year.
Lee had to warm up quickly, and he might have been dealing with fatigue as he pitched in the blistering Atlanta heat for a second straight day. His slider averaged 81.9 mph, down from his season average of 83 mph, and his four-seamer averaged 91.8 mph, down from 93.3 mph.
“He's pitched a lot,” Weiss said. “So, it's something we’ve got to keep an eye on. It’s something we always talk about, trying to keep these guys strong all the way through.”
Strong finish
Stabilizing their rotation will also help the Braves take some strain off their bullpen. The starts that Reynaldo López and Waldrep constructed over the past two nights seemed to do so.
Like López on Wednesday, Waldrep struggled during the first inning. He surrendered Jordan Walker’s three-run homer before recording his second out. But the 24-year-old right-hander escaped his 20-pitch first inning without further damage, and got through the fifth inning having retired 12 of the last 14 batters. He exited after issuing a one-out walk in the sixth, his only free pass of the night.
Waldrep underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow in February. This was his second MLB appearance and first start of the season. His strong finish to this outing indicates he is ready to build on the 2.88 ERA he produced over 10 appearances (nine starts) last season.
One of the most encouraging developments from this outing was Waldrep finding success without relying on his much-hyped splitter. He used the pitch 32.4% of the time last year, but threw it just seven times during Thursday’s 76-pitch effort.
“When the splitter is not working, like we saw tonight, it's like, if we're getting ahead, we don't have to rely on the splitter because we're going to get an early ground ball [with the sinker],” Waldrep said.
Even with López and Waldrep pitching effectively the past two nights, the Braves could be in the market for multiple starters before the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline. As things currently stand, Chris Sale is the only starter pitching effectively enough to be deemed a potential playoff starter.
Another LH bat
The Braves promoted shortstop Jim Jarvis from Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday, partly to add him to Thursday night’s lineup against Cardinals starter Dustin May, who entered having surrendered a .794 OPS against left-handed hitters and a .513 OPS against right-handed hitters.
Stacking the lineup with seven left-handed hitters (including the switch-hitting Ozzie Albies) worked. May was struck in the right ankle by Dominic Smith’s three-run double that caromed into right field in the first. The Cardinals starter remained in the game, but retired just two of the nine batters he faced before exiting.
Instead of taking advantage of May’s early exit, the Braves tallied just three hits over the final eight innings.