ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves don’t want to hear that they’re running out of time to prove they can still compete for a playoff spot. Continued offensive woes, though, are making a case the club could be selling instead of buying when Major League Baseball’s trade deadline arrives at the end of the month.
Atlanta’s lineup came within two outs of its second scoreless performance in two days as the Braves dropped two of three games to the Los Angeles Angels in a midweek interleague series at Truist Park.
The National League’s Braves dodged what would have been their fourth shutout loss in their past seven games when Jurickson Profar hit a one-out home run off left-handed reliever Brock Burke in the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday night, but it was far too little to save the listless offense in a 5-1 loss to the American League’s Angels.
Los Angeles, which improved to 43-43 and is third in the AL West Division, bounced back from Wednesday’s 8-3 loss.
The Braves, who lost the opener 4-0 on Tuesday, are 39-47 and fell back to fourth place in the NL East, a half-game behind the hot Miami Marlins. Atlanta hasn’t won a series since sweeping three games against the New York Mets on June 17-19 at Truist Park.
Profar’s homer was his second in two games since returning from an 80-game suspension for violating MLB’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. He played just the first four games of the season — against the San Diego Padres, his former team — on March 27-30 before his failure of a drug test and MLB’s punishment were announced.
Atlanta manager Brian Snitker had hoped Profar’s return as the starting left fielder batting fifth would spark the struggling lineup. While he is 3-for-8 and has scored twice, there’s not enough happening up and down the batting order, and Snitker knows the Braves need to “get some guys going around him.”
The Braves were limited to three hits, all singles, in seven innings by Angels starter José Soriano, who didn’t allow a runner to reach second base. Soriano (6-5) had seven strikeouts and two walks in his 101-pitch outing.
Matt Olson had one of Atlanta’s hits, a first-inning single to right field that extended his career-best streak of reaching base safely to 33 games. It’s also the longest active run in the majors.
While Olson has boosted his batting average from .234 on May 27 to .267, others continue to struggle. Michael Harris II is hitting .215, and Ozzie Albies is at .224 after each was held without a hit.
Those struggles add to speculation it may be time for the Braves to shake up the roster at the trade deadline. Atlanta won the NL East six straight years from 2018-23 and extended its streak of playoff appearances to seven by earning a wild card on the final day of the 2024 regular season, but the Braves are on the outside looking in of any postseason possibility with just four teams below them in the NL standings.
“Nobody wants to hear that,” Olson said. “We’re in here competing every day. We still have playoffs on our mind, and I understand there’s going to be some outside noise when you have a record like we do, but we still feel like we’ve got a good unit in here. We’re just not playing as well as we want to.”
The Braves also are burdened by a depleted rotation. Bryce Elder (2-6) gave up four runs on eight hits and three walks in five innings for his third consecutive loss. The Braves trailed 3-0 after two innings.
“That’s on me,” Elder said. “It’s tough to get the offense on a roll when you’re always coming from behind.”
Zach Neto had three hits and scored three times, including a home run in the fourth inning, while Nolan Schanuel added a two-run blast for the Angels. Schanuel’s shot in the second inning drove in Neto, who doubled.
Jo Adell’s first-inning single extended his hitting streak to 14 games, the Angels’ longest this season.
After allowing 10 runs (nine earned) and three home runs in only two innings in a 13-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies last Friday night, Elder’s latest poor outing had particularly bad timing.
It came one day after Atlanta placed promising young right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach on the 15-day injured list with a fractured right elbow. Because of injuries, the rotation was already missing left-hander Chris Sale (broken rib), who is the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, as well as AJ Smith-Shawver (Tommy John surgery) and Reynaldo López (shoulder surgery).
Snitker said the Braves may use their bullpen to pitch Saturday in the second contest of a three-game series against the visiting Baltimore Orioles.
The scheduled starting pitchers for Friday’s Baltimore-Atlanta series opener are right-handers Spencer Strider (3-6, 3.86 ERA) for the Braves and Charlie Morton (4-7, 5.63) for the Orioles. The 41-year-old Morton began his MLB career in Atlanta with the Braves in 2008, and he also pitched for them the past four seasons before signing a one-year deal with Baltimore this year.
Ahead of Thursday’s game, the Angels placed rookie second baseman Christian Moore, a former Baylor School and University of Tennessee standout, on the 10-day IL with a sprained left thumb.
The injury occurred during Wednesday night’s game as he dove for a ball hit by Ozzie Albies in the sixth inning. Moore’s hand bent awkwardly when he hit the ground, and he exited the game early.
Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery said he was grateful Moore would not require surgery, though he wouldn’t put a timetable on how much time the 2024 first-round draft pick may miss.
“Any time you see somebody like him have an injury like that, you fear the worst,” Montgomery said, adding the hope that Moore may miss two weeks may be “looking at the best-case scenario.”
Moore was hitting .189 in 53 at-bats since his promotion to the majors on June 13.
Chad Stevens, a 26-year-old infielder whose contract was selected from Triple-A Salt Lake, moved into the starting lineup at second base and made his MLB debut. Stevens was hitting .307 with 14 homers at Salt Lake.
“He’s been playing really well,” Montgomery said. “He’s done everything he can do to earn this opportunity.”
The Angels also released right-hander Héctor Neris, who had a 7.80 ERA in 23 games for the team. Neris began this season with the Braves but was designated for assignment after two appearances, elected for free agency and signed a minor league deal in mid-April with the Angels, who brought him up in early May.