SAN DIEGO -- Suffering consecutive shutouts at the end of a four-game sweep isn¡¯t the most inspiring way to prepare for a three-game series against the defending World Series champion Dodgers.
But the Braves can only hope whatever happened this weekend in San Diego, stays in San Diego.
¡°[Being] 0-4 is bad,¡± Braves manager Brian Snitker said, bluntly. ¡°We didn't get it done.¡±
The Braves concluded a frustration-filled, season-opening, four-game series with a 5-0 loss to the Padres on Sunday at Petco Park. They went scoreless over the series¡¯ final 22 innings and tallied just one hit in the finale. They stand 0-4 for the first time since their 2021 World Series title season.
¡°We are not where we need to be right now,¡± left fielder Jurickson Profar said. ¡°But we have a great team and great talent. When we start going, we ain¡¯t stopping.¡±
As the Braves prepare to begin a three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Monday night, here are some takeaways from the Padres series:
It¡¯s all about the rotation
The Braves pitched well enough to win each of the four games. That¡¯s saying a lot when you consider Spencer Schwellenbach¡¯s six scoreless innings on Saturday stood as the only truly strong start.
Chris Sale labored through the early portion of his Opening Day start, and Reynaldo L¨®pez never found a groove on Friday night. Still, each limited the damage to three runs over five innings.
On Sunday, AJ Smith-Shawver made some mistakes while allowing two runs over four innings. But it¡¯s obvious he has come a long way since he stood on the same mound last October and lasted just 1 1/3 innings after starting Game 1 of the Wild Card Series.
Sale exited with a one-run lead. L¨®pez and Schwellenbach exited with the game tied. Smith-Shawver exited with the Padres leading 2-0.
¡°We¡¯ve got to figure out a way to get something going offensively,¡± Snitker said. ¡°With any offense at all, the worst we do is split the series.¡±
Grant Holmes will start Monday in the series opener against the Dodgers. Having the chance to end the trip with Sale on Tuesday and L¨®pez on Wednesday gives the Braves hope of exiting Dodger Stadium feeling better than they did when they bid adieu to Petco Park.
RISP woes
It certainly wasn¡¯t by design, but by advancing just one baserunner past first base on Sunday, the Braves halted their woes with runners in scoring position. Marcell Ozuna was the only runner to reach second base, and he did so temporarily. After aggressively rounding second base on a groundout in the eighth, he was unable to get back ahead of first baseman Luis Arraez¡¯s throw.
Yep, it was that kind of weekend for the Braves, who haven¡¯t scored since the fifth inning Friday. They went 1-for-22 with runners in scoring position and totaled seven runs in the series. That¡¯s their lowest total in a four-game series since they scored six runs over four games against the Mets from June 9-11, 2017.
¡°It¡¯s better now than later,¡± Braves center fielder Michael Harris II said. ¡°We¡¯ve got time to get all the kinks out. I know it's a tough look when it's the first four games of the season and you can't really get anything going.¡±
The Braves squandered plenty of scoring opportunities but they also had some bad luck. They went 0-for-4 on balls hit 100 mph or harder on Sunday. They ended up hitting .412 (7-for-17) on balls hit with an exit velocity of 100-plus mph during the series. The league average for balls in play hit 100-mph plus in 2024 was .589.
Bullpen trouble
H¨¦ctor Neris blew a seventh-inning lead when he didn¡¯t retire any of the three batters he faced on Thursday. Dylan Lee surrendered a game-winning leadoff homer when he began his second inning of work on Friday. And Aaron Bummer surrendered the toughest-luck run of the season on Saturday, when a Jake Cronenworth comebacker drilled the sole of his shoe and went in the third-base dugout for a two-out double.
While the bullpen is a work in progress, Neris is the only real concern. The Braves had high hopes, as evidenced by their willingness to use him in a high-leverage situation on Thursday. By Sunday, they were using him in the eighth inning while trailing 3-0. He surrendered two more runs and has accounted for five of the nine runs allowed by Atlanta¡¯s bullpen.
¡°You¡¯ve got to keep your head high,¡± Harris said. ¡°It¡¯s too early in the season to keep your head low and think about what just happened. It¡¯s only up from here.¡±