Braves waste Bryce Elder's gem in another walk-off loss to Giants

New York Times

3 hours ago

SAN FRANCISCO — The reeling Atlanta Braves have endured a week of devastating losses, some of which left them angry or frustrated, others causing them to look for silver linings or rue missed opportunities.
But Saturday's 3-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants, which ended on Matt Chapman's two-run, two-out walk-off homer against Pierce Johnson in the ninth inning — after Bryce Elder pitched the game of his life to put the Braves in position to win — left players and manager Brian Snitker searching for words to describe the misery.
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'It's incredible, honestly,' star right-fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. said through an interpreter. 'It's incredible. I mean, obviously, no one wants to lose games in this fashion. No pitcher's going out there hoping to give up a home run in that way, either. But like I said, these things happen, and we just have to turn it around.'
The Braves are amid a six-game skid and have lost 13 of 16, their worst stretch of that length since before their run of seven postseason appearances began in 2018. They are fourth in the National League East and fell to 12 1/2 games behind the first-place New York Mets before the Mets' late game Saturday, the farthest behind the Braves have been since 2017.
It's not just that they're losing, but how they're losing. They are 9-18 in one-run games and have lost their last nine of those. That includes three gut-wrenching, bewildering defeats in the past three days, the latest in a game in which Elder had a career-high 12 strikeouts in eight innings with no walks, three hits and one run allowed.
How would Elder describe these past few days?
'I don't know,' he said, in a subdued clubhouse with players quietly dressing, no laughter or smiles. 'I mean, being called up in '22, I've never been through something like this. And so, I don't know what the answer is. I don't know that anybody knows what the answer is. I just think we've got to keep our head down and trust that the work we're putting in is gonna pay off.
'I feel like if we do anything else, it's just gonna keep spiraling. I mean, obviously, we've got to turn it around. It's a matter of when — obviously, you want it to be tomorrow, but it may be a process, too. We've got to figure out a new way to go about things, from everybody. And we'll see moving forward. But I think, obviously, we're capable of rattling off 10, 15 in a row. So, we just gotta be optimistic and keep it rolling.'
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First, they've got to get it rolling again.
This is a team that began the season 0-7 and 5-13, then went 19-10 from April 18 to May 18, the NL's best record in that span. But that was followed by this latest stretch that's begun to feel more like a death march than a slump, particularly the past three days.
'It's tough. I mean, honestly,' said Snitker, who was ejected for arguing balls and strikes after the fourth inning and, more than an hour later, was fighting back emotions as he struggled to complete sentences and describe his and the team's feelings during the most difficult stretch he's faced in his years as a manager.
'God, Bryce was so good,' he said. 'We had chances, but we just couldn't put the game away.'
These were expressions, feelings Snitker has rarely, if ever, shown to reporters, even after the Braves' postseason losses in each of the past three years in their first playoff round. He got choked up talking at one point, and his eyes appeared moist.
Has he ever experienced anything like this in his 49 seasons in the Braves organization as player, coach or manager?
'Probably have — not here (in the majors),' Snitker said. 'I'm sure I have, and it's not easy no matter where you're at in this game. This is just kind of beyond belief, really. But you know what? We're in charge of this. I mean, as a team, a group, we are responsible for turning this thing around and making it happen.
'I mean, I don't … it's just tough.'
The roughly 72 hours of heartache for the Braves and their fans have gone like this: An 11-10 home loss Thursday to the Arizona Diamondbacks, when the Braves blew a 10-4 lead in the ninth inning; a 5-4 loss Friday night to the Giants that ended on Johnson's walk-off wild pitch in the 10th inning; and now this defeat Saturday, on a crisp, sunny afternoon when Elder outpitched one of the game's top aces, Logan Webb, who had a strong six innings himself.
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'I've been on some losing streaks for sure in my career, but that's a gut punch,' Johnson said after Saturday's stunner. 'And it happened with me on the mound two nights in a row. So, it really doesn't feel good. But the beauty of this game is you get to show up tomorrow and play again.'
Johnson got a chance to close Saturday in place of Raisel Iglesias, who has been so bad this season that Snitker finally removed him from closer duties for the time being, after Iglesias allowed the final three runs in Arizona's seven-run ninth inning Thursday.
The Braves bullpen is a patched-together and erratic unit at this juncture, its ERA climbing to 3.90 (16th in the majors) after its 15th loss Saturday, with a loss total (15) that's topped only by relievers with the Chicago White Sox (20) and Texas Rangers (16). And it doesn't figure to get any easier after the Braves put setup man Daysbel Hernández on the 15-day IL Friday with forearm inflammation.
Relievers were thrilled when Elder took some pressure off the bullpen by pitching eight innings in 107 pitches Saturday, retiring the last 15 batters he faced after giving up a leadoff homer to Wilmer Flores in the fourth inning.
'We've been throwing a lot down the pen, and (Elder) did a phenomenal job today,' Johnson said. 'I mean, eight strong. He had one bad pitch in eight innings; I had one bad pitch in one inning. He did a phenomenal job for us, and our (hitters) battled at the dish. I mean, Webby's one of the best in the game, and he proved it, and we went out there and put up two, and we did a phenomenal job. It hurts. Hurts to lose a game like that.'
Does Johnson, one of the bullpen's most experienced members, believe this team can get things turned around?
'Yeah,' he said. 'Look, guys are one pitch away, one at-bat away, one outing away from going on a streak. When I got here in '23, I think we won, like, 13 in a row, and we were winning with ease. And everybody was just happy-go-lucky. And it's one of those things where baseball isn't like that all the time. It's a roller coaster.
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'It's ups and downs. And this is a team that there's a lot of veterans in here, and we can rally back from that, for sure. Just got to show up tomorrow and continue to do it.'
As great as Elder pitched, the Braves offense once again wasted prime scoring chances that could have given him a multi-run lead. With runners on the corners and one out in the third inning of a scoreless game, Webb struck out Acuña and Drake Baldwin.
With the bases loaded and none out in the sixth in a 1-1 game, the Braves got just one run, when Marcell Ozuna grounded into a force and narrowly beat out a would-be inning-ending double play. Matt Olson had popped out for the first out in the inning with the bases full, and Michael Harris II struck out to strand two.
This ball has been ejected from today's game.@MoneyyyMikeee | #BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/S9QxYQGkH4
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 7, 2025
Harris' 423-foot leadoff homer in the fifth off Webb tied the score, and he hit it only a few minutes after Snitker was ejected for the first time this season. He was tossed by home-plate umpire Gabe Morales for questioning a few generous strike calls Morales gave Webb when he struck out the side, all looking, in the fourth inning.
If that ejection got Braves hitters going, it was only briefly. They stranded two more runners in the eighth and finished 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position after going 1-for-9 in the series opener. The Braves rank 22nd in the majors with a .699 OPS with runners in scoring position and 17th with a .247 average in those spots.
Most offensive and pitching statistics say they're a mediocre team, and the Braves lately are playing like a bad one, showing few if any signs of turning things around.
'It's been difficult. I'm not going to say I've been happy with what's been happening,' said Acuña, who has hit .321 with a .985 OPS in 14 games since returning from a year-long rehabilitation from knee surgery but has seen the Braves go 3-11 in that span. 'Yeah, it's been frustrating, but it's baseball. These things sort of happen, and I have all the confidence in my teammates to turn it around.'