3 Atlanta Braves to blame for series sweep at hands of Blue Jays

Atlanta Braves to blame: Matt Olson and the lineup

Atlanta changed up their lineup on Sunday — credit where it’s due for Snitker — and it worked. The Braves scored five runs after what had been a multiple-game power outage. Snitker dropped Ozzie Albies to third, and batted Austin Riley cleanup. Both players had been struggling of late, and they received a wake-up call.

Albies hit a home run and drove in two runs, while Riley notched two hits in his four at-bats. If they can continue that type of production, then perhaps blaming them at all is a moot point. However, there’s a reason changes were necessary, and that’s because the Braves failed to drive in base-runners, and score at a consistent clip.

Matt Olson, for one, was hitless the entire series. For a player who is a centerpiece of the Braves lineup, that’s not good enough. Perhaps Snitker needs to send Olson a message, as well, and drop him in the lineup until further notice. On Sunday, OIson hit second in place of Albies, who moved down a spot.

Players go through slumps, and that appears to be the case with the Atlanta first baseman right now. The Braves will stick with him, as when he’s on he’s one of the best hitters in the NL.