ATLANTA—A lot can happen in baseball over a 12-day span.
Just ask the Atlanta Braves.
Back on July 2, on the heels of a thrilling comeback win over the Yankees, the Braves were riding high at 49-34 and enjoying a seemingly safe lead of 3 1/2 games in the National League East.
However, since then, Atlanta has fallen into a 2-8 vortex that has the club suddenly looking up at Philadelphia in the same NL East standings.
What's more, if the National League postseason started today ... Arizona (53-43) would possess the second and final wild-card slot over Atlanta.
Where did it all go wrong? Well, the Braves' 3-0 loss to the Diamondbacks on Saturday was indicative of the team's recent failures.
**Rookie starter Sean Newcomb (three runs allowed in 5 2/3 innings) pitched OK in spots, but he wasn't sharp enough to compete with D-backs starter Zack Greinke, who yielded zero runs and only four hits over 7 2/3 innings.
There's also this to lament: Covering his last four starts, Newcomb has an alarmingly high ERA of 8.00.
**The Braves sent five or more hitters to the plate just once (eighth inning); and by then, Arizona was fully ready to commit to the shutdown tandem of Archie Bradley and Bradley Boxberger.
**Leadoff hitter Ender Inciarte (0 for 3) has been in a terrible funk since June 1, posting a meager batting average of .214 over the last 45 days.
Complicating matters, Inciarte has tallied only seven extra-base hits and 14 walks during this dark period.
Which begs the question: Why is he still batting leadoff for the Braves?
**For the month of July, Atlanta has been deplorable in various offensive categories, compared to other National League clubs (15 teams):
11th in OBP
11th in OPS
12th in RBI
13th in walks
13th in runs
13th in home runs
14th in hits
**Perhaps Atlanta radio host Mark Zinno was right to question Ronald Acuna Jr.'s expedited return to the big leagues (during a recent episode of 11Alive's "Sports Extra"), following a month-long rehab from a knee injury.
Since July 3, Acuna (0 for 4 on Saturday) has a .168 batting average, with only one RBI and two extra-base hits.
**The Braves' final four outs were all strikeouts (Ozzie Albies, Freddie Freeman, Tyler Flowers, Acuna).
With one game remaining until the All-Star break, the Braves (51-42) will hand the ball to Julio Teheran in the series finale.
It wouldn't be a stretch to label Sunday as perhaps Atlanta's most crucial outing of the season.
