Walt Weiss Offers Honest Take On Atlanta Braves Recent Offensive Slump

The Atlanta Braves still own the best record in baseball, but a sleepy holiday weekend at the plate gave their fans plenty to talk about.

Atlanta dropped two of three at home to the Washington Nationals, and the bats failed to leave the yard across all three games for the first time since last July.

A 2-1 loss in Sunday's rubber match cost Weiss his first home series of the season, one day after the offense was limited to a single base hit against a Washington staff with no business shutting them down.

After the finale, Weiss did not bother sugar-coating what he had seen out of his lineup.

"It's just difficult to go out and score six or seven runs every single night," Weiss said. "So there's going to be times where you have a handful of guys that are searching for it at the same time. I think that's kind of what we're going through right now."

That has become a familiar tune from Weiss, who shared a similar take after Saturday's one-hit loss to the same Nationals club.

Even a deep lineup runs into stretches where several hitters go cold together, and the math turns ugly fast when that happens over a single weekend.

Outside of a three-run rally in extra innings on Friday, Atlanta managed only three runs over the next 27 innings against a Washington staff ranked 26th in the majors in ERA.

Sunday produced a 1-for-9 line with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.

Austin Riley has been the most visible name on the slump list, with his average sliding near .190 earlier in May, while Mike Yastrzemski is still searching for his footing in his first season as a Brave.

The lineup is not exactly a one-man problem, though it has not really needed to be either.

Atlanta's pitching has carried its weight and then some through May, and Sunday wound up another night the rotation deserved better.

The bigger picture still leans heavily in Atlanta's favor, and one rough weekend does not change a team that has been the class of the NL for two months.

The Braves hold a 36-18 record and a comfortable cushion over the Phillies in the NL East, with a run differential that still ranks among the league's best.

The bullpen has been one of the steadiest in baseball, and there is a real chance Weiss sends three of his arms to the All-Star Game this summer.

Drake Baldwin is putting together a breakout year north of .300, Matt Olson has been steady in the middle of the order, and Riley showed earlier this season he can swing into a real rhythm when healthy.

Two losses to a Washington club playing its best baseball of the year do not undo six weeks of evidence at Truist Park.