The Braves had it handed to them for a second straight night, losing 7-2 to the visiting Rays at Truist Park.
In the first two games of a three-game series, which is scheduled to conclude at 12:15 p.m. Thursday, the Braves (85-61) have been outscored 14-3. Dating back to Sunday in Philadelphia against the Phillies, they’ve plated just three runs in their last 27 innings and are now on a three-game losing streak.
The Phillies’ win over the Astros on Wednesday cut the NL East lead to three games.
“I mean, yeah, you want to have a good offense,” Braves’ catcher Drake Baldwin said. “I think (Wednesday), some of the stuff in the box score didn’t exactly show all the at-bats we had. We put some good swings on balls, just happened to go right at people.
“But I think it’s just something to come in (Thursday) and kind of focus on having good at-bats up and down the order and just kind of get past this.”
Reynaldo López’s return to the Braves’ rotation was also forgettable Wednesday.
The right-hander lasted just 4 2/3 innings in his first start since July 26, allowed six earned runs (a season-high) on seven hits and three walks. He threw 80 pitches (47 for strikes).
“Yeah, not good,” López said via Braves’ team interpreter Franco García. “I was getting behind the count a lot. I think the only positive thing I can kind of take away from this outing was the way the curve and the changeup were playing. But not the result we wanted.”
López, activated from the injured list before the game, got through the first inning with a one-out double play and got a grounder to short for the first out of the second. But then Victor Mesa Jr. crushed a 1-0, elevated fastball for a solo home run to right.
That foreshadowed a long night ahead.
Chandler Simpson, the former Georgia Tech star, lined a single to center after that. Richie Palacios drew a walk. Then Simpson and Palacios pulled off a double steal.
Former Braves’ shortstop Jorge Mateo, released by the club Aug. 9, came up and lined a two-run single to center, making it 3-0. Mateo had one hit in his previous 18 at-bats.
The Rays (87-58) tacked on three more in the fourth with RBI singles from Cedric Mullins and Palacios, respectively, and a sacrifice fly to center from Yandy Díaz. López (4-4) escaped the inning without any further damage, then recorded the first two outs of the fifth before a walk forced Braves’ manager Walt Weiss to make a call to the bullpen.
López has made 12 starts this season. He has lasted more than five innings in two of those.
“It’s been a little frustrating,” he said. “I feel like this year has been a little bit of a rollercoaster just with the way things have been going. But hopefully we can just kind of get it right going into the postseason.”
Rays right-hander Griffin Jax (7-10) allowed just two hits and one run — on a Baldwin solo homer — over five innings.
Matt Olson’s sacrifice fly to center in the sixth brought the Braves within 6-2. That was the Braves’ lone at-bat with a runner in scoring position.
“We’re facing good pitchers, we’re facing good teams, so every at-bat is just that much harder,” Baldwin said. “I think this is the type of people that we wanna face in October, so getting to go through this stretch and fight our way out of it, hopefully come back (Thursday) and these next couple series and have good at-bats, good games and get some wins. That’ll be some good momentum going into October.”
Braves right-hander Víctor Mederos allowed an RBI single to Liam Hicks in the seventh. It was insurance that the Rays really didn’t even need as the Braves mustered just three hits and three walks.
“There’s been some extremes this year with the highs and lows offensively,” Weiss said. “We got to ride it out and figure it out.”
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