Make it three straight series losses after winning all but one series before this recent stretch of bad play. Mike Minor had a poor outing today as he allowed 11 hits and six runs across four innings. He was very hittable today, but we can chalk it up to still being a bit rusty as he has earned our trust after a tremendous 2013 season.
The bigger concern to me is the lack of offense yet again. Freddie Freeman, Justin Upton, and Andrelton Simmons each got on two times, but the rest of the group was rather lackluster. The offense needs to get it together as a team can only win so many 1-0 and 2-1 games in a season. The pitching has been tremendous so far to date and it is inexcusable for the offense as a whole to be performing this poorly. Granted they faced Adam Wainwright tonight, but they have consistently been bad despite who is on the mound as of late.
Thankfully David Hale was able to throw 2.2 perfect innings despite not netting any strikeouts. Hale can be extremely valuable in this role if he is able to eat innings and keep the opposition at bay. He and Anthony Varvaro both performed well in this role tonight.
The struggles Minor had came with Peter Bourjos, for whatever reason. Bourjos went 3-4 with a home run, the only one that Minor gave up. The Braves will next play the Cubs, so hopefully they can get back on track as they currently sit in third place in the division.