ARLINGTON -- Friday started with good news for the Braves with Austin Riley being activated off the injured list. There weren’t many highlights after that, though, as the Braves’ second-half struggles continued with an 8-3 loss to the Rangers to open a nine-game road trip.
Atlanta has lost five of its seven games coming out of the All-Star break, including three straight. The Braves went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position in the opener against the Rangers, and are 3-for-30 in those situations amid the current three-game skid.
“We’re just not hitting with guys on base again,” manager Brian Snitker said. “That’s something we’re going to need to do to extend innings and keep the line moving and give ourselves a chance.”
The Braves had chances throughout the game. One of their best came in the fourth when the first two batters reached. But Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi escaped that jam by getting Riley to fly out and striking out Ozzie Albies and Sean Murphy. The Braves had two runners reach again in the fifth with one out, but Eovaldi struck out Matt Olson and Ronald Acuña Jr. to end the threat.
Eovaldi finished with seven strikeouts over five scoreless innings.
“He’s tough,” Snitker said. “He’s got a lot of pitches and he’s having one of his best years. We’re fortunate to get him out of the game after five, just couldn’t mount anything after.”
The Braves’ only hit with runners in scoring position came on Jurickson Profar’s one-out single in the ninth. The game was out of reach by that point.
As a team, the Braves struck out 11 times Friday and have struck out a combined 32 times over the last three games.
Despite the forgettable night in many ways, there were a couple of bright spots. Center fielder Michael Harris II continued his encouraging start to the second half, belting his second home run since the break. And left-hander Joey Wentz took a step forward in stretching himself out as a starter.
Harris led off the seventh inning by sending an 0-1 slider from Rangers reliever Jacob Latz over the right-center-field fence. Harris, who also singled in the fifth, has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games since July 11.
“He’s been swinging the bat better,” Snitker said. “He’s made some adjustments with his hands. It started in St. Louis [the series before the All-Star break]. I like what I’ve seen because he’s making an effort to change some things and it seems to be working for him.”
Wentz, meanwhile, had his deepest outing, going 4 1/3 innings. He allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits with one walk and six strikeouts.
Wentz ran into most of his trouble with two outs, giving up a solo home run to Jonah Heim in the second and an RBI double to Wyatt Langford in the fourth. But pitching into the fifth and pushing his pitch count up to a season-high 81 is a positive sign in terms of becoming a starter who can work deeper into games.
Wentz, who was claimed off waivers from Minnesota on July 11, is in a starting role for the first time since 2023.
“Today was a good step for that, getting in the fifth,” Wentz said. “You want to go as deep as you possibly can [as a starter]. You just try to continue to build them.”