Locked On Braves POSTCAST: Mistakes costly as Atlanta Braves fall to New York Mets in extras, 3-2

You are a locked on Braves postcast, part of locked on sports, Atlanta, your team every day. Hello and welcome to the Braves postcard for the locked on podcast network, your team every day. Grant McCauley alongside Jake Mastroianni after one of, I would say the roughest, most frustrating losses that you'll find for the Braves this year, but unfortunately that is becoming a list that is growing longer by the day, but the one that we saw against the New York Mets in game one of a four game series, it's got to rank up there somewhere, and I don't know if we're going to get to the bottom of what exactly that ranking looks like on this night, but it was a lot of frustration for the Braves and ended in extra innings with a fly ball that should have been caught falling and allowing the Mets to pick up a 3-2 win, throw on some base running errors and a lot of other things we got to get to, including the lack of offense. And this was another night for the Atlanta Braves that simply seems to be part for the course of the season. We're seeing it far more times than one would have expected, liked, whatever you want to say, dating back to the start of the year, but we are a long way from the start of the year. And unfortunately we are ticking down the days before the end of the season as the Braves are marching into the second half and it kind of ended up in a place that I don't know if we're going to be able to make sense of it on the show, but all that aside, we're going to do our best to do it. As always hit that thumbs up, subscribe to Locked On Sports Atlanta, subscribe to Locked On Braves as well, wherever you get your podcasts, of course, the Locked On Sports Atlanta channel on YouTube, where you find the Braves' podcasts, and we appreciate you making Locked On Braves your first listen of the day. Today's episode brought to you by booking.com booking. Yeah, the right stay can make you a fan of any city, even your rivals. Check out booking.com for your stay today, Jake, for the Braves, their stay in New York began on a serious down note, I think I've already hit the highs or the lows, whatever you want to call them, but this is a night for the Atlanta Braves in the 2024 season that is not going to rank among their best. No, it's not. It's almost like they're on a mission this year to see how painful they can lose a game because they just continue to do that. And I can't do anything but laugh at this point. I know it's not funny. Look, if you don't think those guys in the clubhouse are upset about this or hurting or frustrating, you know, they do, they care, they want to win, but man, they just keep killing themselves this season with the way that they're playing and the ways that they are finding to lose baseball games. This is just another one that's absolutely crushing. Yeah. And I said it on social and I'll say it again, one of the worst losses in recent memory, and by that, I mean, here in 2024, maybe over the last couple of years, there've been some frustrating losses. There've been losses of a larger magnitude on a bigger stage. Yes, I understand that. But if you watch this as a fan of the Atlanta Braves, and you have an expectation that they can play at least fundamentally sound baseball win or lose, you didn't get the fundamentals on this one. They were base running mistakes, maybe some over-aggressiveness, then flat out, and we'll get to it in a moment, a play that seemed to be, you know, even to the surprise of Brian Snitker when it came to what looked like a botched squeeze play in the ninth inning. But again, I'll get to that in a moment. Long story short, though, this may not be the biggest and worst loss in the history of Braves baseball. Nobody's saying that it is, but this is just kind of a night, Jake. I think we've talked about this a lot. It's a microcosm of larger things and larger problems and themes for this team this season that they'd very much like to distance themselves from, but they can't seem to get out of their own way and the self-inflicted wounds, they were costly in this one. And look, we have to be fair in saying that they have a lot of players playing for them right now that shouldn't be playing for them. They're missing a lot of key pieces, but still it comes down, as you said, the fundamentals. They're just not doing the little things. I don't know how you lose this ballgame. You have a starter that gives up two hits. Your bullpen only allows one hit in this game. You out hit them seven to two through nine innings of this one. And somehow you still fail to lose this ballgame. Your two, three and four hitters each get on base twice in this one. And yet you still find a way to lose this game. That's kind of what I'm talking about. This team is instead of finding ways to win this year, it seems like they're finding ways to lose a lot of times. And it's just it's very frustrating as a fan. Again, the only thing I can really do is just laugh through the frustration at the moment because it is just so painful at times to watch this team try to win ballgames and the way they're trying to do it right now. They're just not accustomed to playing this small ball type of game. But that's what they're having to do with the hand that they're dealt. And like I said, I mean, they are dealt a very short hand at the moment, but you still feel like there's enough there for them to play better than they're playing. Yeah, I mean, the kind of plays that happened in this game where that didn't happen is the case. Maybe plays that were not made. I mean, you talk about the bullpen giving up one hit. That hits a generous call because Ramon Laureano should have caught the ball that Jeff McNeil hit to right field that won the game for the New York Mets. He just flat out overran the ball. It fell behind him. I don't know what went on in that play. I'm sure he was trying to make it to the best of his ability. Maybe he was still thinking about atoning for the base running gap in the ninth inning for Atlanta, which we'll get to again in just a moment. I don't want to draw it out anymore, but we'll get to it as soon as we can. But I do want to point out, as you did great performance by Chris Sale pitched into the eighth inning, made the one mistake, the Lindor two run homer. Unfortunately, he also had a walk in that inning. Lindor has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball. But Chris Sale more than did his part to keep this game in a manageable place. Braves offense once again struggled to do much more after grabbing the first run of the game. And Jake, you're now one in five in the second half and just three runs per game as well here. And their only win came in walk off fashion in the first game of the second half. This, as I said, and as I'll point out, and as I think everybody's aware of, seems to be a second half in which the Braves are sinking rather quickly. And it's the second half, as we've talked about, where you were hoping they were going to come out and kind of flip the script and get going and get on a real run here in the second half. I certainly thought that was going to be the case. I was very hopeful and optimistic. And look, we're six games into the second half there. There is still some time, but definitely they have not gotten off to the best start. As you said, the only win they had was a comeback win they had in the first game after the break and have lost all five since then. So it's just really it's really tough for this Braves team. You want to see them get going. You want to see them get on a run and get on a good winning streak here going into the deadline and into the final two months. They just they just continue to hurt themselves. And Grant, if I would have told you coming into this season that this Braves team would have a stretch of three games where they go without a home run. I think that would have been a surprise to a lot of people. They have not hit a home run since the third inning of Sunday's game. That's just again, there's a lot of big pieces missing in this offense. But that's not something I think many people would have thought coming into the season that the Braves would would have such a homeless drought like they're in right now. Yeah. And when you looked at what had happened, really, since June the 1st, I went back and talked about this on my show over the weekend. The Braves were fourth in Major League Baseball in home runs. Twenty first, though, in runs scored from June the 1st through last Sunday. So prior to the series starting against the Cincinnati Reds, this week has certainly not strengthened that cause whatsoever. They've had a lot of trouble being able to score, manufacture, do whatever you want to call it. But, you know, I might have said the eighth inning earlier. So if I misspoke, apologies for that. The ninth inning, though, was the frustration, the start of it for the Braves. Whitmerfield came on to pinch run, promptly steal second base, goes to steal third base with Edwin Diaz on the mound, caught stealing replay review. You know, I think whichever way it had been called, it was going to stand. There was no overturning that play. I can see the case for him being out. Most certainly, if he'd been called safe, though, I think the call, again, would have stood because it was so close. And that seems to be the way that replay goes. But just another thing that didn't go right for the Braves. You're already in scoring position there. I know it's Edwin Diaz. He's had some ups and downs this year. He ended up striking out Laureano to get out of the inning. But what it does is just take away opportunity for somebody else to come up, lengthen that inning and maybe give yourself an opportunity to score a run. You're trying to do some things. I can understand that, certainly. And Brian Snooker talked about that. But the fact that it got worse in the 10th inning, Ramon Laureano, it looked like there was a squeeze play on and that he had broke for the plate. The pitch was high and away. Kelnick obviously can't bunt that. It doesn't get down. It also looked like he had a chance if he just turned around to go back to third base. He gets in a very short lived rundown that was just, again, to use that word, a microcosm of the things that have gone wrong for this club. Then he misses the final fly ball of the game. I listen to Brian Snooker's postgame comments. He called it unacceptable on the base running by Laureano and said that there was no squeeze play that was on. You'd have to ask them was what he said. I'm assuming he means Laureano and Kelnick. I can't imagine who else it was. He said, I don't know what that was and called it unacceptable base running or just an unacceptable situation there in the 10th inning. That pretty much sums it up. Yeah, that does sum it up. Where is the communication? Who is making that call? And if and here's the thing, too, I know you said the ball, the pitch was high, killing it, can't get to it. But if that is a suicide squeeze, you have to do something to try to put the bat on the ball. And Laureano was breaking like it's a suicide squeeze. You know, there's a difference between a safety squeeze and a suicide squeeze. He was going. And if that's the case, then Kelnick has to go all out to put the bat on that ball. So there's tons of miscommunication there. Either Kelnick doesn't know it's a suicide squeeze, Snooker doesn't know what's going on. And Laureano apparently on his own page of his own. So it's just a terrible situation. Nobody on the same page there. And it leads to an out. And, you know, you're trying to manufacture runs. You need all the base runners you can get. And that just can't happen. And backing up to the ninth, we don't want Whit Merrifield. You steal the base. Great. You're in scoring position with nobody out. Why not? If you're going to play small ball, why not continue to bunt with Nacho, who squared on the first pitch? And he's clearly a young kid that looks overmatched right now at the big league level. Might not matter. Laureano maybe goes on to strike out with runner at third anyway. But if that's just kind of where the offense is, you get a runner at second with nobody out. Why not continue to play small ball there and try to bunt them over to third to give yourself a chance there? So just a lot of things like little things like we've talked about that this Braves team just isn't able to execute. No, they have not been able to execute. And that is unfortunate. The strikeout of Nacho Alvarez. Obviously, that's kind of a pivotal play or call there in that inning. Again, if you go another direction, maybe that helps you out. But even if he stays at second base, Alvarez does strike out. Alvarez strikes out. Laureano strikes out. At least you're able to continue to send somebody else up there running into outs. Obviously, it was a problem for the Braves in this game and obviously something that in hindsight, I'm sure they would like to do over again. But I think we could say that about a lot of the things that have gone on, unfortunately, for the Braves this year. And there are, in fact, no do overs. I can confirm that. We got a lot more to get to on this edition of the Braves postcast when we come back. We'll talk about the performance of Chris Sale. We'll talk about some of the other things from the Braves offense that has you kind of wondering if and when they're going to figure it out. This certainly wasn't the night for them. And of course, we've got to look ahead to game two of this four game series as the NL wildcard is getting tighter by the day. The Mets are red hot. The Braves, meanwhile, are the exact opposite of that here in the second half. And we'll get to all of that as we continue on the Braves postcast. Get supplies from the site that is made for the skilled trade. Supplyhouse.com It's a reliable way to order plumbing, HVAC and electrical products online. They're easy to use. Websites packed with helpful resources and the latest product info to help you get the job done right. And you can shop with a complete inventory of over 200,000 parts from over 400 top brands and get your order delivered right to your door with fast shipping from coast to coast. 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They also killer last minute deals save 60% or more off buying last minute tickets for sports concerts, comedy, theater and much more. So you can take the guesswork out of buying all your tickets with game time. Download the game time app, create an account, use the code locked on MLB. You'll get $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply, but create an account and redeem the code locked on MLB in the game time app. You can download it for free today. Last minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed it's game time. Well, Jake, let's look at the line score and the box score of what was a very painful loss for the Atlanta Braves. It came in 10 innings, three to two. The Mets taking it in game one. New York is now 54 and 48 on the year. The Braves 54 and 47, only half a game in front of the Mets, the surging Mets in the wildcard standings in the National League for the Braves. Two runs, seven hits, no errors. They left six men on base for the New York Mets. Three runs on just three hits in this game. One of them, I don't really know how you can call it a hit. And the Braves obviously could have an error in that error column. And I'll just leave it there because we're probably not going to get it changed tonight before the show's over. Mets left just two runners on base as they had very limited opportunities in this one, but certainly made the most of them. The loser, unfortunately, Pierce Johnson, that's a tough luck loss if I've ever seen one. Drops to three and two while Phil Matan picks up the win with a scoreless 10th inning against the Braves. He is now two and two on the year. Again, as we look at things that went right for the Braves, we can point at the starting pitching as we have a lot this year. Chris Sale, once again, masterful seven and a third innings, two hits, unfortunately one of them. Cost him two runs. It was a Lindor home run, nine strikeouts, only one walks, a no decision for him. Lindor has been red hot and one of the hottest hitters in all of baseball, and it did follow the only walk of the game by sale. I'm sure he would like to have that back in hindsight, but you certainly can't put Chris Sales performance on the list of things that weren't working for the Braves on this night as he continues to deliver for Atlanta. Yeah, you certainly can't put this one on. Chris Sale gives up two hits in one walk over seven and a third innings. I felt like he could have kept going in this one. He was just throwing that well and only 94 pitches, so very efficient in this one, too. But I think if you go and ask him, you know, it's not the home run to the door who, like you said, is one of the hottest hitters in baseball right now. It's the walk to Tyrone Taylor that really hurts in this one because you just you can't do that. And he's the guy that doesn't walk many batters and was a good at bat by Taylor who fouled off some tough pitches. But that walk right there just comes back to really hurt you. You can't put people on in front of Lindor with the way that he is swinging the bat right now. But again, this isn't on Chris Hill. He gave up two hits on the night was just brilliant. Again, when he's on the mound and he's pitching like this, you have to win these games and it's games like this and it's games like the one in Chicago against the White Sox that he also pitched and was brilliant, but made one mistake and it wasn't even a mistake to release Robert and you lose that game one to nothing. These are just the games you just you can't afford to lose as the Braves when you get performances like this on the mound from Chris Sale, who was just brilliant in this one. 14 whiffs, 19 called strikes on those 94 pitches. I mean, just a masterful outing. But again, I think if you're looking at him and, you know, he's I know he's going to go in and blame himself in this one. He certainly shouldn't. But he's going to be more upset about that walk than anything. Yeah, I mean, you win as a team. He loses a team, all those things. And I mean, there's a belief in that, obviously. But when you're looking again at who was out there trying to do their part, Chris Sale was more than trying. He did his part in this game. The margin for error is just it's razor thin for Braves pitching right now with the way that the offense is once again. And this was kind of showing towards the end or heading into the All-Star break and certainly has shown in the second half to be, you know, the same problems that we were seeing over the course of much of the month of May and into the month of June. It seemed like maybe the Braves were starting to figure it out. At least they were in the home run department. But as you pointed out, even those have begun to dry up for Atlanta again. The injuries, certainly a part of this, as you as you've said and we've said and we've talked about seemingly more than anybody has wanted to hear it. Certainly the Braves have got some players who are getting some reps for them at this point that were part of no one's plan at the start of the year. But that's where the Braves find themselves. But the unforced errors that the Braves had on the base path, certainly in this game and the self-inflicted wounds were simply too much for them. RBIs from Orlando Arcea to grab a lead. The Braves have not had many of those in the second half either. That came in the second inning. Mets got the two run homer from Lindor in the third and Travis Darnot with a run knocked in to tie things up and square it at six. That's where it stayed until the bottom of the tenth. Unfortunately, the Braves' chances in the ninth and tenth innings both went begging. Mets bullpen over the final five innings. No hits and six strikeouts. The Braves lineup, once again, simply could not do anything against them. But you did have multi-hit efforts from Austin Riley and from Matt Olson in this game. And again, a run knocked in by Travis Darnot. But still a couple of walks actually in this game from Ozuna. So all those guys were on base twice. I believe you mentioned that earlier. But nothing to show for it, even though you had those guys getting on base at a fairly regular clip in this game. Yeah, that's what I say. I mean, it's unfortunate because your two, three and four hitters, they all get on base two times and your five hitter Darnot, you know, has a hit in an RBI in this one. So your guys at the top were doing some things, getting on base. Some of it wasn't very timely. And when they were getting it, obviously you would have loved for Matt Olson to come up with something there in that first inning with Riley on third and one out. You know, that obviously comes back to really hurt him. And then he goes on to get two hits later in the game. So some of it is just just poor timing, poor execution. And, you know, this looks like a team offensively that's just pressing. And I feel like that for a while now. There's several at bats in this game where they're 2-0, 2-1 and they're chasing pitches outside of the zone, trying to do a little bit too much in this one. But again, the guys at the top, they got on base. At least they did what they could for the most part. But, you know, you look at Rosario and this one over three with three strikeouts, you know, Nacho looks overmatched right now and he's a 21 year old that probably shouldn't be here at the moment. But it's just, you know, can't get those big hits. And that's really been what's hurting the Braves. Those long balls aren't coming right now. And they're just not able to come up with those clutch hits with runners and scoring position. Yeah. And you're going to need some of that if you're going to want to remain competitive in what is turning into and what has been a very competitive National League wildcard. The New York Mets, meanwhile, they got just three hits in this game, as I mentioned earlier. And, you know, that's all they needed to pick up a victory, unfortunately, because the Braves just were not able to kind of get out of their own way or just maybe stay in their own lane. I'm not sure which of those goes the best, but I'm sure either one would apply in this game. Rosario was over three with three strikeouts. He was the man who got the walk to get the inning started, though, in the ninth inning for the Braves. And unfortunately for Merrifield, Whitmerfield made his Atlanta debut with an immediate stolen base and then gets caught trying to steal third. The replay challenge unsuccessful for the Braves. That was all part of that mix as well. Matt Olsen did get that couple of hits in the game. You mentioned that, you know, you have to get him going. We've talked about that so much already, but it's more than just him, obviously, getting Austin Riley back who didn't end up having to miss too much time despite being on the paternity list. Congratulations to him and his wife, Anna, welcoming their second child, their son, Bo, into the world this week. Now back to work. Multi-hit game for him. But again, Braves weren't able to string these things together and get it done the way that they needed to in this game. But as we, you know, continue to point out and say and will continue to say until something changes, it's more than just one hitter for the Braves. But if there was one guy that it would really help to have going in the middle of this order, it's got to be Matt Olsen, doesn't it? It does. And it has to be the power. It's great. We've seen him on back to back games now collect a couple of hits, but we need to see that power from Matt Olsen. It is just wild to look at his numbers right now and 13 home runs under 50 RBI on the season at this point from a guy who, you know, put up a monster season last year. We have to have him hitting home runs, driving in runs. And like I said, he comes up in that spot in the first inning, chasing pitches in off the plate, not able to just put the ball in the air there to drive somebody in. And it's just frustrating for Matt Olsen right now to see him and what he's going through. And then, you know, it's good to see him getting these hits. Hopefully that gives him some sort of confidence, but more so we need to see the double home run power from Matt Olsen. That's what makes him so special. Yeah. And the Braves need that. And then some from, again, more than just him. And they could use all the help they could get from some of the other hitters. And, you know, who knows what the next four days is going to look like leading up to the trade deadline? Because it's you're in a baffling position here because the Braves, again, are in position to go to the postseason where the season to end today. But there are two more long months ahead. And the way that they're trending doesn't exactly make you feel great. But Alex Antopoulos is often said and continues to say if he can find a way to get those reinforcements and make the club better, he's going to do that. We're all about to find out how fascinating this trade deadline is going to be for the Braves if they can get that done, what they can get done and if what, if anything, they do get done can end up helping them. But maybe that's a discussion for another time. As we continue on the Braves postcast, we'll get you set for game three. We have some not so great updates on Michael Harris the second, who seems no closer to making his way back. We'll get to that as well. All of that's coming your way as the Braves postcast continues. 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Some of the teams have kind of fallen a little bit back, but there are six clubs that are bunched up now within. Now make that. Yeah, six clubs that are bunched up in the wildcard within one and a half games of one another. You have the Braves just ahead of the New York Mets. Then you got the San Diego Padres who have won five in a row. St. Louis Cardinals who have had an up and down second half, but they're still right there. A half game out. Then the Arizona Diamondbacks who've made themselves a trade picking up A.J. Puck from the Marlins earlier this evening. They're one game out. Then the Pirates are a game and a half out. So if this was your dance card for the NL wildcard coming into the season, congratulations, because this is quite an eclectic mix of teams. The Braves seem like the one that's a bit of an outlier because you expected them, obviously, maybe to be in a different place in the standings altogether. But this is the reality of where the Braves are. And it looks like it's going to be quite the battle between these clubs. And over the next few days, I don't know that we're going to get all the clarity we need to know who's going to buy what, what's going to be available and who is going to be able to, I don't know, reinforce their run in the second half over the final couple of months. And that's why I think we haven't seen a ton of moves happen yet because there's just so many teams that are that are so close right now that you don't know what they're going to do. And look, the Braves have played a lot of these teams lately and haven't done well. They've had the chance to beat some of these teams and distance themselves. But instead, they let them get very close to the Atlanta Braves, as close as you can get. So Braves haven't done themselves any favors because they played the Pirates. They played the Diamondbacks. They did split a series with the Diamondbacks. They took a series against the Padres on the road. They lost the series to the Cardinals. And here they are now playing the Mets. So they're playing all these teams right now in crucial spots in this crucial spot of the season. And for the most part, Braves really haven't been able to put those teams away. If I'm looking at this right, the Braves have allowed the fewest runs in all of baseball. Just kind of going through the expanding expanded standings over on MLB.com. Three hundred and seventy five runs against for the Braves. They have a run differential that would make you feel pretty good. Then you realize that their run scored. Well, that's far from where the Braves wanted to be. And obviously a good chunk of that was done over the first three, four weeks of the season. It has been a strange, strange ride for Atlanta. Their expected one loss, which will win you nothing at the end of the year. Fifty six and forty five. Their actual record, fifty four and forty seven. So pretty much right on what you'd expect with that run differential. Among the other factors, they played well at home, not so well on the road with the Braves have a losing record. Jake, as you mentioned, the head to head opportunities they've had against some of these wildcard teams have also kind of slipped through their fingers. So the next couple of months is going to be critical. You know, you're not getting Ronald Acuna Junior back this year. Ozzie Obvious is going to be out for two months. Michael Harris is returned still TBD, but maybe within the next couple of weeks, it seems like not only do they need to figure out what they might do as far as bringing in some help via the trade. But as we've said time and time again, there are certain guys that are going to have to get going for this club that will include more than just Matt Olson. I will stipulate that. But this just does not look like the same club that we expected to see coming into this season. But this is where they are. And they're going to have to figure it out. I just don't know where it all starts, but some kind of momentum in the second half is what the Braves are searching for, because this first six games, first handful of games for Atlanta have been pretty much the exact opposite of what they needed coming out of the All-Star break. Yeah, it has been, unfortunately. And you were looking for that spark and you thought maybe the first game of the second half was that spark when you get the comeback win. But it's been straight downhill from that and losing in some pretty brutal ways. And Alexander has some work to do. I feel like the trade deadline, I don't want to say it's the last chance. You got two months after that, but it's it's the last chance where I feel like outside of the players, the management can, the front office can do something to try and spark this team. It's a chance to bring in some some new faces, some new energy to just change the vibes in the clubhouse, because, you know, just outside looking in and I'm sure inside the clubhouse, everybody says that they're they're great and doing fine. But just outside looking in, the body language doesn't look good. And that's going to be the case whenever you're losing games like you are. And all it all it takes is a good run to turn things around and get going. But you got a chance at the deadline to do that, bringing in some new guys. But now with Michael Harris thing, you know, and him being out until at least the middle of August, it makes you have to wonder, do you need to go out and get to outfielders at the deadline? Just this case with some insurance and a pitcher. And do you have the resources to do all that at the trade deadline? So Alex certainly has his work cut out for him. Well, you certainly don't have the resources to swing a trade for every single need and bring in a star level player. I think that goes without saying. But can you find some players that, as you pointed out, could bring a little bit of energy into the club again, just knowing that somebody is walking in the door that has had some success that could be helping you out that could energize this club? And while, you know, they may say all the right things in the clubhouse, and I feel like most of these guys do, they're incredibly accountable to one another. Nobody's enjoying what's going on, but the results speak for themselves. And as we've said many times, the numbers are, you know, you are what the numbers say you are at some point this season. And the Braves offense, unfortunately, is exactly what the numbers have said. Inconsistent would be putting it mildly. They have simply underperformed by and large. If your name is not Marcelo Zuna and really Austin Riley, maybe over the last five or six weeks, it has been hard to find consistent contributors to this offense. And I don't know, to your point, that they can find all of that on the trade deadline either. They're going to have to figure out a way to put this game behind them. I would imagine it's getting pretty difficult to forget about these things and have that short memory. But that's exactly what they're going to try to do. Charlie Morton was good last time out. Can he give the Braves more of what we saw on Thursday from Chris Sayle? Will the bats show up? That's another question that we ask on the show. We don't know what the answer is going to be, but we have a decent idea. Unfortunately, game two of this four game series, Charlie Morton's 5-5, 392 ERA. Kode Senga will make his first start of the season, his 2024 debut. He has been on the shelf battling arm injuries this year. A tough competitor, though, one of the better pitchers in the National League last year will see what he throws at the Braves and if the offense can somehow maybe get on him early and figure out a way to give Charlie Morton a lead to work with. Try to be patient. You got Kode Senga coming back, a guy who struggled with walks in the past. It's his first start of the year coming off injuries, probably on a pitch count 80 to 85 pitches. So please be patient for the Braves bats there and hopefully get to him and get to that Mets bullpen, which might not be a good thing. They couldn't get a hit off the Mets bullpen tonight. But for Charlie Morton, hopefully you get the good version because, again, this was a game for the Braves. You just you had to win it. You got Chris Sale pitching great. You use your best bullets out of the bullpen and Jimenez, Iglesias and Johnson. Jimenez and Johnson didn't have to throw a lot of pitches. Iggy had to work pretty big in this one, but really need a good start out of Charlie Morton. As you said, need the bats to come through here and help this team even up the series. Game two of the four games set against the New York Mets at Citi Field Friday with a 7.10 p.m. Eastern time first pitch as the Braves will try to even this thing up and reverse their recent fortunes in the second half, which have been in many words, but among those frustrating might be probably the most apropos on this night. Once again, we appreciate you riding along with us here on the Braves podcast. We have reached the end of this edition. Make sure you subscribe to Lockdown Sports Atlanta on YouTube and make sure you leave us those likes and comments. Share the show with a friend. We appreciate that. Subscribe to Lockdown Braves wherever you get your podcast. For Jake Mastroianni, I'm Grant McCauley. Once again, a frustrating extra innings loss for the Braves in the opener of a pivotal four game series against the New York Mets back at it on Friday night. Until then, we will catch you next time. So long, everyone.