What to remember from the Braves’ victory in New York

The Atlanta Braves saw their four-game winning streak end in heartbreaking fashion Sunday night as Brandon Nimmo’s home run turned a 3-2 lead into a 4-3 loss. With the loss, Atlanta missed a chance to win a seeding game against the Phillies who lost to the Marlins on Sunday. Despite the setback, Atlanta won four of five games following their 1-5 West Coast trip.

The launch continues to impress

Atlanta’s rotation continues to increase. Bryce Elder managed to bounce back from his difficult outing in Los Angeles by limiting the Mets to two runs in 5 1/3 innings on Sunday. He allowed seven hits, but failed to walk a batter. Before Sunday’s start, Elder had walked eight batters in his last 8 1/3 innings.

Charlie Morton started the series Friday allowing three hits and one run in seven innings. Max Fried followed up Saturday with seven hitless innings. For the series, Atlanta’s starters allowed three runs in 19 1/3 innings.

No-hit story

The Braves moved closer to a no-hitter in Saturday’s game. Max Fried pitched seven hitless innings. Joe Jiménez held them in check in the eighth, but Raisel Iglesias allowed a solo home run to JD Martinez with two outs in the ninth. Atlanta has not had a no-hitter since Kent Mercer no-hit the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on April 8, 1994. Mercker played a significant role in Atlanta’s last combined no-hitter in 1991 .Mercker, Mark Wohlers and Alejandro Pena combined to no-hit the Padres on September 11.

Although it has been 30 years since Atlanta’s last no-hitter, there have been a few close incidents in recent seasons. Sean Newcomb was one hit away from a hit on July 29, 2018 against the Dodgers before Chris Taylor singled. Newcomb came out after throwing 134 pitches and the Braves won 4-1. Mike Foltynewicz had an up and down season in 2017, but was scoreless in the ninth inning at Oakland on July 1. Ironically, Foltynewicz’s no-hitter bid was interrupted by Matt Olson scoring to start the inning.

Hiccups at the end of the round

As good as the starting pitching was in New York, Raisel Iglesias and AJ Minter struggled. Iglesias earned his 200th career save in Friday’s win, but allowed a walk and a run in the ninth. Iglesias allowed two hits, including Martinez’s homer and another walk on Saturday. He was unavailable Sunday, giving Minter the opportunity to give up a simple bunt and Nimmo kick.

Minter also missed a save on the West Coast road trip to Seattle when Mitch Garver thanked him with a two-run home run on April 29. Since then, he has appeared in five games, including Sunday, and has given up three hits and been charged with three runs in three innings. Before this weekend, Iglesias had only been charged with one earned run in his last 11 appearances.

Marcell Ozuna continues to be offensive

Marcell Ozuna had two hits Sunday and added two more RBIs, each on a roller up the middle, giving him 40 in his first 37 games. He had five hits in the Series and hit .323/.404/.638 with a double and three homers in May. He’s now hit safely in six straight games.