No one is angrier at A.J. Minter for Braves' blown lead than he is at himself

In one of the better pitched games in baseball this season, it was the Seattle Mariners who came out on top of the Atlanta Braves in Monday night's series opener in the Pacific Northwest. A two-run liner over the outfield fence off the bat of Mitch Garver lifted the M's to a 2-1 victory over the Bravos. Neither starting pitcher factored in the decision, although Max Fried's six hitless innings were wasted.

Fried battled with Bryce Miller all evening long, but it was a high pitch count that took him out of the game after six frames. Pierce Johnson pitched a hitless seventh to keep the potential no-hitter intact. While Joe Jimenez surrendered the Mariners' first two hits of the game, it was the big fly off the bat of Garver in the bottom of the ninth that lifted them to victory. Minter had pitched well up to this point...

Minter summed up his night with this one quote, citing that when you don't have it, you don't have it.

“One bad pitch can lose you the game. You hate it, but that’s what happens.”

You can tell that he was crushed to be the one to let Fried and the whole team down in the end.

“You could tell I didn’t have my A-plus stuff today. But at the same time, you’ve got to figure a way to get it done and I couldn’t. I just hate it for Max. He pitched an unbelievable game.”

Minter will get blamed for this loss, but the Atlanta offense was putrid vs. the Mariners Monday night.

A.J. Minter accepts blame for not getting the job done in Max Fried's Braves gem

Truth be told, this isn't the worst loss in the world. Atlanta only had three hits on the evening. The Braves did not score a run until Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ozzie Albies manufactured one in the top of the seventh in their one-run loss. While Acuña seems to be turning the corner, Matt Olson and Austin Riley couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat. They have had a miserable first month of the season.

The other good part about this loss is it came in the first night of a West Coast road trip vs. the AL West-leading Mariners. They have stellar pitching but cannot hit worth a damn. Plus, Atlanta's two most hated division rivals in the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets also lost so there is that. The Braves still have the best record in baseball, and they have not found the groove on offense yet.

While I would expect for the likes of Acuña, Olson and Riley to finally find their footing at the plate, you cannot realistically believe the Braves' pitching excellence will be sustained throughout the entire campaign. I mean, Minter already has five wins on the year out of the bullpen, and just set a franchise record for career holds. He had a tough night, but he is not the Braves' biggest problem at this time.

Atlanta needs for its big contributors on offense to wake up once before school is out for summer.