LOS ANGELES -- Chris Sale¡¯s attempt to distance the Braves from what has felt like a cruel April Fools¡¯ prank was negated by an underperforming offense that was unable to cover his one costly mistake.
The season-opening nightmare continued for the Braves as they fell to 0-6 with a 3-1 loss to the 7-0 Dodgers on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. Sale was bidding for the necessary shutout before his former Red Sox teammate Mookie Betts took him deep in the sixth. The two-run shot was too much to overcome for an Atlanta offense that has totaled two runs over the past four games.
How bad is it that the Braves have scored just nine runs thus far? Well, before this year, they had never scored fewer than 10 runs through the first six games of any season. Those two instances were at the start of a 103-loss 1905 season and at the start of the 1980 season, when a Bobby Cox-led club was shut out in three of its first four games.
¡°We've pitched and played defense well enough to win,¡± Braves manager Brian Snitker said. ¡°The only thing we haven't done is score enough runs to win. It¡¯s pretty much as simple as that.¡±
The Braves have opened a season with six straight losses for just the sixth time in the modern era and first time since 2016. Making matters worse, they have lost left fielder Jurickson Profar to an 80-game suspension and Reynaldo L¨®pez to a shoulder ailment that will force him to miss most, if not all, of the season.
¡°We¡¯ve definitely been tried and it¡¯s been tough,¡± Sale said. ¡°We really haven¡¯t played well as a whole and haven¡¯t clicked. It¡¯s obviously bad. But the good news is you look around the room and you see who is in here and you know, it¡¯s only a matter of time, right?¡±
It¡¯s safe to say the Braves are looking forward to getting back to Atlanta after Wednesday night¡¯s series finale against the Dodgers. They left their Spring Training complex on March 23, played two games in Arizona and four more in San Diego before coming to Los Angeles.
¡°I¡¯ve got the feeling that as soon as we get home, we¡¯re going to be fine,¡± Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna said.
Profar has been absent from the leadoff spot the past two nights, but the offensive struggles started before his suspension began. The Braves went 29 innings without scoring before Michael Harris II homered in the eighth inning of Monday¡¯s loss. Their lone run on Tuesday was a gift. Ozuna scored from second base when the ball slipped out of Betts¡¯ hand and bounced toward right field on a potential double-play turn.
Ozuna¡¯s leadoff single in the second was the only hit surrendered by Dustin May, who worked five strong innings in his first appearance since May 17, 2023. The right-hander nearly lost his life last summer, when he suffered an esophageal tear while eating salad. He was in the process of rehabbing from a procedure completed the previous summer to repair a torn flexor tendon.
¡°Luckily at this point of the season, we have time,¡± Sale said. ¡°We don¡¯t want to lean on that too hard. We want to get it going eventually. But we have confidence in this clubhouse in who we have and what we can do.¡±
Sale did all he could do as he pitched at Dodger Stadium for the first time since recording three strikeouts in the ninth inning of the decisive Game 5 of the 2018 World Series. He joined Betts and their other Red Sox teammates in celebration that night. The Braves would like to have a reason to celebrate soon.
Ozuna has drawn 10 walks and constructed a .542 on-base percentage. Matt Olson¡¯s .375 OBP has come with the aid of six walks and two extra-base hits. The other Braves have combined for just eight walks. This indicates pitchers aren¡¯t too concerned with what follows Ozuna in the cleanup spot. Who can blame them? Ozzie Albies ranks third on the team with a .481 OPS.
The Braves are an MLB-worst 1-for-34 with runners in scoring position. In other words, this hasn¡¯t been a fun first week for new hitting coach Tim Hyers. But it¡¯s not like his predecessor is experiencing anything different. Former Atlanta hitting coach Kevin Seitzer¡¯s Mariners are 3-for-32 with RISP.
¡°I hope I¡¯m looking back on this and we¡¯re talking about how great it was to win the division after a start like this,¡± Snitker said.