The Kansas City Royals beat the Atlanta Braves 2-0 on Wednesday night. In a series that simply is hard to explain, the Royals sweep the 2 games series against Atlanta. The Braves have now lost 6 of their last 8, with the potential of seeing their division lead drop to four games before the night is over (go Rockies).
The Braves starters have certainly not been the reason for the past two losses. Similar to Dallas Keuchel, Julio Teheran pitched another gem tonight, going six innings and giving up four hits, two walks, and striking out six. A rare Freddie Freeman error and a lucky swing from Brad Keller resulted in a two run lead that might as well have been eight.
Both Danny Duffy and Brad Keller performed just as well, if not better than the Atlanta starters. Keller had one of the better starts of his career tonight, as it never seemed the Braves were truly in place to be a scoring threat at all tonight. The Royals have won 8 of 11 for a reason, and their pitching was amazing this series.
However, losing these two games is difficult to digest. The Braves beat themselves tonight, and the offense simply had no answer. Whether its fatigue or just a few off-nights in a row, it happens during a long season. The issue is that it arguably could not have happened at a worse time.
Hopefully, Atlanta will iron out the wrinkles tomorrow. Regardless of how big of a lead they have come Friday, it does not change the fact that each of the next six games basically results in a two game swing in the NL East standings. Atlanta easily could sway their season significantly as a result.
The hope is that a move or two will improve this team into a true postseason threat over the next week. However, what matters most is that this team needs to regain the mentality that it expects to beat anyone, and it needs to regain it soon. The starters have definitely improved over the past ten days. The offense must regain its form as well. After tomorrow, the Braves have potentially the most important road trip they have had in years. Everyone knows they are up for the challenge. Hopefully, their play will be ready to prove that.
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