MILWAUKEE, Wisc. — Ian Anderson pitched well, but the Braves lost 1-0 on Monday night because Milwaukee’s pitching shut down Atlanta’s offense.
Here are five observations on the Braves (16-20):
1. The Braves began this series having struck out the second-most times of any team in baseball.
After the opener at American Family Field, Atlanta’s 350 strikeouts are the most in the sport. Those are ahead of the 347 racked up by the Angels, who have played two more games than the Braves.
The Braves on Monday struck out 16 times against Freddy Peralta (10 strikeouts), Devin Williams (three) and Josh Hader (three). Eight of the last nine Braves struck out, including the final six.
“I think a lot of it today had to do with the opposition,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “Those guys were spot on, all three of them. That wasn’t an easy task.”
The Braves collected two hits – one in the first inning, the other in the fourth. One was an infield hit.
“Peralta was just spot on,” Snitker said. “I go back and look at some of the at-bats, and he was just painting the black, and the stuff was good. And the other two guys, my God – Williams and Hader, they’re as good as it gets, too. And you know you’re going to get good pitching the whole series when you come in here and play these guys.”
2. The Braves have only four hits since the fourth inning of Sunday’s game versus the Padres.
What does it usually take for a team to begin rolling?
Snitker said one hit or one two-out RBI can be contagious.
“I don’t know what the answer is," he said. "I’ve been trying to figure it out for 40-some years, what it is to do this. It’s something that, (if) these guys keep grinding, showing up, playing, eventually it happens to a positive for you.”
3. Anderson pitched six innings of one-run baseball but left with one pitch on his mind: a 95-mph fastball to Tyrone Taylor that flew outside and got away.
The wild pitch allowed the game’s lone run to score as Hunter Renfroe, who hit a one-out double and advanced to third on a groundout, crossed home plate.
“Definitely a pitch I want back,” Anderson said.
The righty, however, has pitched well since that rough first start of the season. Since allowing five earned runs over 2 2/3 innings in his season debut, Anderson has given up only 10 earned runs over 33 ⅓ innings.
Anderson on Monday allowed only four hits and walked only two batters, but the Braves’ offense couldn’t take advantage.
That’s why one pitch decided the game.
“Definitely (stinks),” Anderson said. “I wish I could get that pitch back, but yeah, it was a good game.”
4. The Braves hoped to start Spencer Strider on Tuesday if they didn’t use him Monday. But they had to use him in the opener.
Not only was Tyler Matzek unavailable (more soon), but other relievers were down. Strider, who knew the club might need guys out of the bullpen, tossed two scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
He doesn’t care if he’s a starter or a reliever.
“I just want to pitch in the big leagues, help us win,” the righty said. “Just pitch as frequently as I can and have success, win games and get another World Series ring. Hopefully contribute a lot more to the next one.”
5. Matzek began to feel the left shoulder pain two or three weeks ago. He will undergo an MRI in Atlanta on Tuesday.
“It’s been like touch and go,” Matzek said. “Some days it feels good; some days it’s not so good. It kind of just got to the point where it’s like, ‘Look, we got to do something.’ So we’re going to go get it checked and see what it is.”
This season, Matzek has a 5.06 ERA over 10 ⅔ innings. Dating back to April 27, he has allowed five earned runs over his last four innings. He has completed an inning in only two of six outings during that span.
With Matzek down, it seems Strider will get a bigger role out of the bullpen.
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