The curse is alive and well

With the Atlanta Braves winning the National League eastern division this season, there was much optimism surrounding the team. They were matched up against the Cardinals. Both teams seemed to be evenly matched through the first four games of the NLDS. There were many missed opportunities in the two losses earlier in the series. The Braves were still hopeful that they could pull off a win in game five to advance to the NLCS. Game five didn’t go according to plan for the Braves. The Cardinals started the game off by scoring ten runs in the first inning. That set a MLB post season record for most runs scored in an inning. This leads me to bringing up the Atlanta sports curse. The curse is alive and well. There were many missed opportunities in the two losses prior to game five by the braves in this series that would lead many to believe the curse played a part.

Game One Loss

The Braves were tied going into the ninth inning, but before then, one of the braves critical relief pitchers named Chris Martin left the game due to a hand injury. The lead the Braves to call in a relief pitcher named Luke Jackson to pitch in place of the injured Martin. Luke Jackson then allowed them to tie the game up. All the Braves needed to do was to keep the Cardinals from scoring any additional runs so that they could get a chance to win with a walk off run in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Braves ended up giving up four runs in the top of the Inning. The Braves scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth, but it wasn’t enough. That first game was very crucial for setting the tone of the series.

Game Four Loss

Game four started out with the Cardinals scoring two runs in the first inning. The braves ended up scoring one run in the third inning and three runs in the fifth inning. The Cardinals ended up scoring three runs after the first inning. The crucial run being scored by the cardinals in the tenth inning securing their victory. There was a situation in the game where a Braves pitcher named Tomlin was pitching very well and was taken out and replaced by a pitcher named Greene. Many people believed that manager Brian Snitker should have left Tomlin in the game because Greene promptly gave up the tying run in the eighth inning. It was set up by a bloop hit that went just over first basemen Freddie Freeman's glove and ended up in shallow right field.

Final Thoughts

This has to be the worst feeling for Atlanta sports fans since losing the infamous 28-3 Superbowl against the Patriots in 2016. This was a very different loss than the Superbowl loss by the Falcons. The Falcons collapsed in the third quarter of the game while the Braves just go beat from the start of game five. People will say that there is no curse, but there is a lot of evidence that suggests that the curse is very real. This loss by the Braves helps solidify that belief. The Braves are good enough to overcome this and get back to the post season next year. We can only hope that they will put this behind them and continue to improve.