ATLANTA -- After watching
The Braves’ bullpen has produced a 6.92 ERA since three key relievers -- Melancon,
Here are the records in head-to-head matchups between the NL East’s four playoff hopefuls (everyone but the Marlins) dating back to June 1: Braves 18-9, Nationals 10-9, Phillies 10-12 and the Mets 5-13.\n\nEven though it feels a lot has gone wrong lately, the Braves have won six of their past eight games. Per Fangraphs, they have a 84.4 percent chance to win the division and a 99.5 percent chance to earn a playoff berth.\n\nHere are three takeaways from what became an ugly win:\n\n**Bullpen shows signs of hope, then slips** \nIt looked like the tide might be turning when the Braves received a perfect eighth from Greene, who had retired just 10 of the 25 batters he’d faced since being acquired from the Tigers. His struggles led Snitker to give the closer’s role to Melancon, who made four scoreless appearances before squandering a four-run, ninth-inning lead in Saturday’s 10-inning loss to the Marlins.\n\nMelancon was handed the same 6-2 advantage against the Mets and then began to unravel as he allowed four straight one-out hits, including consecutive RBI singles by
The Braves have used
Lugo allowed the Braves five hits and the only out he recorded came via a