5 Braves to blame for another depressing series loss to the Nationals

With a thrilling walk-off win against the Cleveland Guardians on April 28, the Atlanta Braves improved to 19-7 on the year. It felt as if they weren't playing their best baseball yet they had not only the best record in the NL East but the best record in the majors. Since improving to 12 games over .500, things have only gone downhill for Atlanta.

The Braves went just 13-14 in the month of May which ended with a frustrating home series loss against the Washington Nationals. They had lost three of four against their NL East rivals at Truist Park. Atlanta bounced back to win three of their next five games but had another series against the Nats on the horizon.

Sure enough, Atlanta found a way to once again, lose three of four to Washington. This is especially disappointing because they won the opener of the series before dropping each of the next three games. Atlanta is now 35-28 which isn't bad, but they're just 16-20 after their hot start. It's not quite panic time yet, but things certainly aren't going in Atlanta's favor right now.

Just about the entire team deserves some sort of blame for the team losing yet another four-game series against the 30-35 Nationals, but these five players in particular deserve the lion's share of it.

5. Sean Murphy has gotten off to a rough start since returning from the IL

Sean Murphy suffered an oblique injury on Opening Day, knocking him out of action for almost two full months. He returned at the end of May and simply hasn't looked like the same guy since.

Murphy replaced Travis d'Arnaud as the team's starter but did just about nothing in this series. The 29-year-old came to the plate 12 times and recorded just one skinny hit. To his credit, that hit did go over the fence for a home run, but it came in a game in which Atlanta was trailing 7-2 in the seventh inning. They'd lose that contest with a final score of 7-3.

To make matters worse, Murphy committed a throwing error in the second game of the series, allowing CJ Abrams to score and Nick Senzel to swipe second. There's a chance Senzel would've beaten Murphy's throw even if it was on target, but we'll never know. Senzel wound up scoring soon after, and the Braves lost that game 2-1. Murphy going hitless in his four at-bats with a pair of strikeouts didn't help things either.

4. Hurston Waldrep's MLB debut did not go as planned

Soon after the Braves promoted inexperienced prospect Spencer Schwellenbach from AA to the majors, Atlanta did the same with Hurston Waldrep who had made just one start in AAA this season before getting called up to make his MLB debut. Like Schwellenbach, Waldrep made his debut against the Nationals.

Waldrep's MLB career got off to a great start as he zoomed through three scoreless innings. He even faced the minimum through those three frames. In the fourth inning, however, things fell apart for the 22-year-old.

The Nationals would score seven runs that inning, highlighted by a three-run homer off the bat of Keibert Ruiz who has just a .538 OPS this season. Waldrep showed some flashes, but he also let what was a 2-0 lead get completely out of hand. By the time the book was closed on his performance, the Braves were down 7-2. With where their offense has been, that was essentially game over.

Waldrep pitched a bit better than the stat line indicated, but the bottom line is he allowed seven runs and didn't complete four innings. Most teams lose any game in which their starter has that kind of performance, and the Braves turned out to be no exception.

3. Aaron Bummer didn't come through when the Braves needed him most

Waldrep wound up allowing seven runs in his MLB debut, but his final line could've looked a whole lot better. He departed the game after allowing four runs in the fourth and with the bases loaded with two outs. One pitch from the usually reliable Aaron Bummer would've gotten the Braves out of the frame only trailing by two runs. That did not happen.

Bummer was brought in to face struggling Nationals leadoff hitter CJ Abrams. The 23-year-old had just three hits in his last 29 at-bats entering play on Sunday. Waldrep got him out twice. Going to the left-hander in Bummer to face the left-handed hitting Abrams made some sense, but it backfired on Brian Snitker immediately.

Bummer's first pitch was deposited down the right field line and into the corner. It plated three runs. What was a manageable 4-2 deficit turned into a 7-2 deficit in the blink of an eye. Waldrep loaded the bases, but Bummer had been as reliable as they come since Atlanta's opening series in Philadelphia. He didn't execute on Sunday. The Braves wound up scoring five runs on the day, which makes it even more frustrating.

2. Ozzie Albies continued to struggle in the series loss vs. the Nationals

The Braves weren't lighting the world on fire offensively this season, but Ozzie Albies had gotten off to a good start, posting an .878 OPS in his first 15 games before getting hit in the foot by a pitch and landing on the IL. He'd return just 11 days later, but has seen his OPS dip over 150 points in the process. His struggles continued in this Washington series.

Albies has been hitting at the top of the order against left-handed pitching with Ronald Acuña Jr. out for the year and has been hitting fifth against righties. No matter where Snitker puts him, Albies hasn't been producing. That remained true in this series as he had just three hits in his 17 at-bats.

Albies did drive in a run, but that came in Atlanta's 7-3 loss. He did score a run, but that came in a three-run victory. In other words, when he did do something, it was rather inconsequential. The Braves desperately need Albies to snap out of his funk to get their offense going. He failed to do so in this series.

1. Austin Riley's season-long struggles continued

In the last three seasons, Austin Riley has been as consistent of a superstar as there is in the National League. He had finished in the top seven of the NL MVP voting each time, and had supplanted himself in the middle of the best batting order in baseball. So far this season, he simply hasn't looked anything close to the player he has been.

Riley was struggling this season, posting a .707 OPS in 37 games before suffering an injury to his side. He sat for a couple of weeks before returning to action and all he has done since is struggle even more.

Riley had just six hits in 34 at-bats with ten strikeouts since his return to action before this series. In the four games he played against the Nationals, he had three hits in 15 at-bats. A .200 average in the four games isn't quite as bad as Albies or Murphy, but those players don't have the same MVP-level expectations that Riley has.

In addition to his offensive struggles, Riley committed a throwing error that led to a Washington run in the third game of the series. It was rather inconsequential as Washington won the game easily, but it just adds to the frustrating season-long struggles that Riley has had.