ST. LOUIS — John Schuerholz often said, “Winners make commitments, and losers make excuses,” during his long Hall of Fame career.
The longtime Braves executive would have been proud of how Charlie Morton and Kenley Jansen responded to the troubles they encountered in a 6-5 loss to the Cardinals on Saturday night at Busch Stadium. Jansen walked in the game-ending run and then took full accountability.
“We’re all human,” Jansen said. “Of course, we don’t ever want to blow a game. But that’s the nature of the game. You’ve got your ups, you’ve got your downs and you’ve got to fight through it. I know how to come back and get back on top.”
Moments after Jansen took responsibility, Morton quickly took blame for allowing the two, two-run homers that gave the bullpen no room for error.
“Giving up four runs [in five innings], that put the guys in a tough spot,” Morton said. “Overall, I don’t see anything bad, other than I didn’t do my job.”
This was an unusual conclusion for the Braves, who lost for just the third time in their past 18 games. Jansen hadn’t blown a save opportunity since June 26, and he entered this game having posted a 1.84 ERA over the 15 appearances he had made since returning from the abnormal heartbeat that kept him sidelined from June 27-July 13.
When Lars Nootbaar grounded out to begin the bottom of the ninth, it looked like Jansen would protect Atlanta’s one-run lead. But the inning unraveled when Brendan Donovan followed with a double to the right-center field gap. A soft dribbler tied the game and a bases-loaded walk ended the game unceremoniously for the Braves, who fell to 69-4 when leading after eight innings.
“This one sucks,” Jansen said. “It always sucks. But you’ve just gotta let it go.”
It was a struggle for Jansen, who recorded a strike with just 11 of 23 pitches. The veteran closer uncorked a wild pitch while issuing Paul Goldschmidt a five-pitch walk. He then hit Nolan Arenado with an 0-2 cutter to load the bases.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had one like this,” Jansen said. “The ball wasn’t cutting. Everything was flat.”
With one out and the bases loaded, shortstop Dansby Swanson was playing at double-play depth, on the edge of the outfield grass. So, he had no chance to record an out on the Corey Dickerson dribbler he fielded as he got to the edge of the infield grass. If the ball had been hit a little harder, the result may have been an inning-ending double play. Instead, it was a game-tying single.
“It’s a tough game,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s going to happen. You hate to lose any of them.”
Jansen’s attempt to at least force extra innings faded as he issued Tyler O’Neill a bases-loaded walk. It was a somewhat anticlimactic plate appearance. Just one of the five pitches to O’Neill was close to the strike zone.
“I’m not going to give in,” Jansen said. “I fell behind 3-0. That’s the great thing I’ve learned about this game. There are such great hitters over there. So, I’m not going to put one in the zone. I’m just going to keep maximizing my effort.”
Nobody questioned the effort on a night when Travis d’Arnaud hit a three-run homer and Michael Harris II further fueled a four-run fourth with an RBI single. Collin McHugh, Raisel Iglesias and AJ Minter each threw a scoreless inning to set the stage for Jansen. The result was just different than what the Braves had experienced over the past few months.
“It’s a weird one,” Jansen said. “I’m not even going to lose sleep over this one.”
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