Braves lose after allowing 4 runs to Giants

ATLANTA — The likelihood of winning a seventh straight National League East title has faded over the past couple of months. But with the Phillies coming to town this weekend, the Braves have an opportunity to add excitement to what has been a frustration-filled season.

With their 4-2 loss to the Giants on Thursday night, the Braves remained nine games behind the first-place Phillies. It’s not an insurmountable deficit. But a series loss could create one, especially from a mental standpoint.

“I don’t think this is a do-or-die weekend by any stretch of the imagination,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We want to win this series. It’s big. It’s a division rival. Those are always big.”

These two teams have intensified their rivalry over the past two years. The Phillies have finished 14 games behind 100-plus-win Braves clubs at the end of the past two seasons. But Philadelphia has needed just four games to eliminate Atlanta in the National League Division Series both of those years.

The two teams have switched roles this year. The Phillies own MLB’s best record and they are on pace to win 106 games. The Braves won 19 of their first 26 games and were 1 1/2 games ahead of the Phillies through April 28. But they have lost 31 of the 59 games that have followed.

“Every year is going to be its own separate little thing,” Snitker said. “You don’t know what it’s going to be. It’s different than it’s been the past couple years. That’s just baseball.”

Last year, the Braves matched MLB’s home run record (307) and became the first AL/NL team to produce a .500-plus slugging percentage. They have scored two runs or fewer 26 times this year, including five times in the past eight games. They tallied two or fewer runs a grand total of 24 times last year.

These offensive woes have created a more eye-opening stat.

The Braves were 43-51 when they allowed four runs or more last year. They are 6-31 in such games this year. Their last win when surrendering four-plus runs was on April 17 against the Astros. They have since gone 0-27 in these games.

“I wasn’t aware of that until you said it,” Braves catcher Sean Murphy said. “That’s on the offense.”

Injuries have played a part, but the Philllies aren’t going to be sympathetic. They are coming to town without Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto, who will all be on the injured list through this weekend’s series.

But the injury bug has hit the Braves hard since they entered the season with a “World Series or bust” mindset. Spencer Strider made one healthy start before undergoing season-ending surgery and Ronald Acuña Jr. was lost for the year on May 26.

Were the Braves equipped to overcome these significant losses? They have from a pitching standpoint. Their starting rotation ranks fourth among NL teams with a 3.72 ERA. Chris Sale, Reynaldo López and Max Fried are All-Star candidates.

But a Braves lineup that struggled throughout May with Acuña has become far less imposing. Center fielder Michael Harris II has been out since June 14 with a hamstring strain. The offense took another hit this week as shortstop Orlando Arcia missed the Giants series because of an infected abscessed tooth.

Consequently, Forrest Wall and Zack Short sat at the bottom of Atlanta’s lineup this week and conjured memories of when pitchers used to draw plate appearances.

The Braves started Thursday’s game in encouraging fashion, producing a two-run first against Logan Webb. Austin Riley delivered a sacrifice fly in the opening frame and then smacked a double with no outs in the fourth. It looked like the extra-base hit might create a run, but Matt Olson was thrown out at the plate attempting to score from first base.

There was initially reason to wonder if third-base coach Matt Tuiasosopo’s send had something to do with the lack of production at the bottom of the lineup. But Olson was at third base when Michael Conforto grabbed the ball near the left-field corner.

Charlie Morton surrendered a pair of home runs in San Francisco’s three-run fourth and Short’s throwing error led to an unearned run in the sixth. Surrendering four runs wasn’t necessarily a big deal last year. This year has been a much different story.