The Atlanta Braves lose more than just a game Monday night.
By James Kunkle
The Atlanta Braves lost to the New York Mets 7-2 Monday evening, but the ultimate gut punch was the loss of Mike Soroka for an extended period of time.
It was billed as the sequel to the amazing pitching duel that we all witnessed on opening day, as Atlanta Braves ace Mike Soroka was taking on maybe the best pitcher throughout baseball in Jacob deGrom.
It certainly seemed after the first two innings, we were in for the same kind of 1-0 game we saw on opening day, but things really went south in a hurry for the Atlanta Braves.
On what should have been a borderline routine double play, Mike Soroka fell off the mound and was in obvious pain.
One look at the replay would show clear evidence why. We’ll spare you that part of the video, but this is the aftermath…
Mike Soroka has to be helped off the field after getting injured trying to cover first base.
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) August 3, 2020
Stay tuned. pic.twitter.com/c9OrtccCZC
I am one of the farthest things away from a doctor and I did not stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night either, but I think we all saw a slight bulge in the calf area which would indicate a ruptured or torn Achilles.
UPDATE: Unfortunately, that diagnosis was confirmed by Brian Snitker in his post-game presser.
#Braves giving no timetable yet for Soroka, but typically a torn Achilles is at least 9 months of recovery before returning to competition. That'd be around May. Again, they've not given timetable or even said if it was complete tear, though that's what it appeared to be. https://t.co/7eb306mQCj
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) August 4, 2020
It could be argued that Soroka was the absolute last player the Atlanta Braves could afford to lose.
The third inning was a train wreck from the get-go as Marcell Ozuna played some absolutely horrible outfield defense and gave the Mets a runner a third to lead off the inning before making yet another error before the bat where Soroka was hurt.
It will most likely be an inning we look back at the end of the year and wonder what might have been.
At this point, I’m just hoping this is something that would not prevent Soroka from getting normal reps in next year’s Spring Training… but that’s unlikely.
The bright spot for the Atlanta Braves was the continued great series of Travis d’Arnaud. He collected two hits against deGrom including his first home run in an Atlanta Braves uniform.
Despite the long odds, the Atlanta Braves tried to rally against a beleaguered Mets bullpen again as the Braves loaded the bases with only 1 out in the seventh but they were ultimately shut down and scored nothing more.
One thing is for certain…the Atlanta Braves already had pitching problems, and now they have a MAJOR problem. Max Fried gets the ball Tuesday to start a series against the Blue Jays.
Fried’s time to lead is now.
Next. This was our nightmare. dark
The real question is who wants to follow?