Atlanta Braves shut out (again) by New York Mets

We’ve been here before. The Atlanta Braves put one of their best starters on the mound. That starter goes five shutout innings, but the Braves can’t seem to give him any run support. In the sixth inning, things come completely unglued for the Braves and they give up a two-run lead. That’s exactly what happened to the team on Friday night with Julio Teheran on the hill. Just another version of Braves Groundhog Day, except Bill Murray isn’t here to make me laugh.

Let’s face it, the season is over for the Braves. They have an infinitesimal shot at making the playoffs if they win every game, but that’s not going to happen. I’ll be shocked at this point if they win even three of their last nine games, simply because they can’t hit. The game itself was rather predictable. The Braves would put men on bases, they would somehow get into scoring position, and then Hades would freeze over. Lather, rinse, and repeat. Always repeat. People neglect the repeat.

So, could the Braves come back from a 2-0 deficit to retake the lead? Of course not, what team have you been watching for the last month? If anything, they got worse with the bat after they gave up the lead. After the top of the sixth, the Braves got exactly zero hits and zero runners. A big old goose egg. Not that there was anything on the line still, but watching a team completely give up after the slightest thing goes wrong is disheartening to the fans. You can shuffle lineups all you want, but if the team has no heart, they are doomed from pitch number one.

Braves finish with five hits, no runs, an 0-for-4 mark with runners in scoring position, and basically no real reason to watch this team struggle anymore. The Mets added on three more runs to win the game 5-0. The Pirates won, so they are now seven games back in the wild card race with nine games to play.

Ring the bell, there’s a fighter dead in the ring. The Braves play the Mets again tomorrow, and they hope to score this time. I’d say don’t miss it, but let’s be real. There’s college football games more interesting than the Braves right now, and that’s a sad state of futility in September.