If the Braves’ lineup is the main reason behind their early-season struggles, their shallow bullpen isn’t far behind. On Tuesday, both issues were on full display, reinforcing concerns that this team simply isn’t built well.
Despite scoring seven runs the night before against Zack Wheeler and the Phillies, the Braves’ offense was completely shut down by Taijuan Walker, who had a rough 7.10 ERA over 83.2 innings last season. That turned the game into a bullpen duel, and although Atlanta’s bats came alive late, the relief corps couldn’t hold the line for a second straight game.
After the Braves took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth, Bryce Harper quickly flipped the script with a missile into right-center. Dylan Lee left a 95 MPH fastball right in Harper’s sweet spot — a mistake that rarely goes unpunished.
To their credit, the Braves answered in the bottom of the inning with a homer from Austin Riley, who had missed earlier chances with the bases loaded but made up for it with a 417-foot shot to left.
Daysbel Hernandez kept things level in the eighth, but Raisel Iglesias once again gave up a go-ahead homer in a tie game — this time to Trea Turner, who sent a hanging slider just over the left field fence in the ninth.
Atlanta nearly rallied, putting runners on the corners with two outs in the ninth against Jose Alvarado, but Sean Murphy struck out to end it, and the Braves missed another shot at back-to-back wins — something they’ve yet to do this season.
While the bullpen takes some of the blame, the offense also failed to capitalize against a struggling starter like Walker. Still, this team has held late leads in five games — and has let three of them slip away.
That’s a serious issue, and one that might’ve been avoided if the front office had properly addressed bullpen depth after losing A.J. Minter and Joe Jiménez. Instead, Alex Anthopoulos opted for a budget approach — and now the team is paying the price.
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