The Atlanta Braves lost another tough one in San Diego on Friday night, falling to the Padres, 4-3.
Fernando Tatis Jr. launched the first pitch he saw to the left field seats to give San Diego an early 1-0 lead. Martin Maldonado, who is probably the worst hitter in the game, made it 2-0 in the second with a liner up the middle. Maldonado recorded two hits off Lopez in his first two at bats for the first time since August 2023.
The Braves would chip away in the third with a couple of terrific two-out at-bats. Jurickson Profar singled, Austin Riley walked, Matt Olson walked, and Marcell Ozuna inside-outed an inside fastball just past the diving glove of the second baseman to tie it at 2-2.
Xander Bogaerts promptly gave San Diego the lead a few moments later with a two-out double of his own, although the lead was short lived as Jarred Kelenic roped a ball down the right field line that just snuck out to tie it at 3-3 in the fifth.
It was a shaky night for Reynaldo Lopez, who only managed three (THREE!) swing and misses over the course of five innings and 94 pitches. The Padres had nine hits, walked twice, and only struck out once. San Diego has a good lineup, but the Braves will have to hope Lopez is better in his second outing.
The bullpens traded zeros until Dylan Lee hung a breaking ball in the middle of the plate that Jake Cronenworth did not miss in the eighth. That would be the difference on Friday night.
The Braves are now 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position this season. They’ve done a nice job getting on base, but they’ve been pretty lifeless when having opportunities to put a crooked number on the board.
The four-game series continues on Saturday evening with Spencer Schwellenbach set to make his 2025 debut against righty Randy Vasquez, who made 20 starts last year with poor results (4.87 ERA / 4.70 FIP / 4.90 xFIP). First pitch will be at 7:15 p.m. on the FOX national telecast.