Walt Weiss Keeps Faith in Braves' Bats After Loss to Brewers

One run on seven hits was never going to be enough in Milwaukee.

The Atlanta Braves dropped a 4-1 decision to the Brewers on Saturday at American Family Field, their second straight loss, and the shape of the game looked painfully familiar.

The offense grabbed an early lead, went quiet, and watched the pitching staff wear down against a deep lineup.

Manager Walt Weiss keeps insisting the group is too good for this to last much longer, and the schedule is about to test that belief.

August baseball has a way of exposing thin margins, and Atlanta's margin is thinner than it has looked all summer.

Atlanta struck first when Michael Harris II lined a double to left in the opening inning, his 30th of the season, scoring Drake Baldwin for a 1-0 lead.

The bats delivered almost nothing after that, and the team finished 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

Milwaukee answered in the third when William Contreras singled home a run and Jake Bauers followed with a two-run homer, and a sacrifice fly in the fourth closed the scoring.

Martín Pérez took the loss after the Brewers ground him down for 97 pitches in just four innings.

Harris has been one of the few consistent bats, hitting .294 with 20 homers and 70 RBIs this season, but according to MLB.com, the Braves have scored two runs or fewer in five of their last six games and have not homered in 116 at-bats, dating to Drake Baldwin's home run on Tuesday in Minnesota.

"We've got some good names in that lineup. It's just a matter of getting going again," Walt Weiss said after the game.

Harris offered a similar view, saying the club has simply run into tough pitching lately and can control the race by winning its own games.

There is some truth in that, because Milwaukee owns the best record in the National League, but the timing is dangerous.

Atlanta sits at 75-55 and still leads the NL East, yet the lead is down to three games because the Phillies have won eight in a row.

A cushion that felt comfortable a week ago, when Ronald Acuña was heating up, is shrinking by the night.

The response starts Sunday night in Williamsport, where the Braves and Brewers wrap the series at the Little League Classic with Tyler Mahle facing Shane Drohan.

Atlanta then gets Monday off before opening a home set with the Dodgers on Tuesday, a stretch that will say plenty about whether this slide is a blip or a real problem.

The rotation has already survived losing Spencer Strider to the injured list earlier this season, so the pitching can hold up, but the margin for cold bats is gone.

One series in August does not decide a division, but the direction of the past week is hard to ignore.

The Braves snapped their last skid behind dominant starting pitching, and they will need the same formula again, because the division race they once controlled is suddenly very much alive.