Atlanta Braves: Blown Out Against Houston

The Atlanta Braves home-stand got off to a rough start one that may have fans questioning if this team is capable of continuing the surge they started in June. The Astros blew the Braves off the field giving Sean Newcomb his first deserved loss.

Being an Atlanta Braves fan over the last five weeks has been fun for the first time in nearly four years the Braves appeared to be a team that had a legitimate chance to surge towards postseason. With the latest blowout loss to the Astros were the Braves shown that they are not contenders this season?

While basing whether or not the Braves are a contender based on a single game is completely reactionary it is also fair. The Braves didn’t look to be in the same weight class as the Astros on a night when they had their best pitcher on the mound in Sean Newcomb.

Newcomb had been the Braves hottest pitcher as of late and was blown off the field early in the game. While the Astros beating Newcomb isn’t overly concerning considering the quality of pitchers they have managed to pile runs up on it is important to watch his next start and see if he is able to respond.

The Braves are a team that are on the edge of contention and with the roster as is will continue to fight towards .500. Unfortunately the loss against the Astros was an indication that this team is also not ready to take on the best teams in the League.

They are headed in the right direction in one of the quickest rebuilds in recent memory but much like their shortstop Dansby Swanson they haven’t arrived just yet. That isn’t to say this team will not be fun to watch only that fans will have to remain patient just a bit longer before this team is ready to take on the better teams in the League.