Braves get swept by Orioles in Baltimore; Lose 2-0

Oh hey, there was an actual honest-to-goodness baseball game going on tonight! We know that you're probably paying more attention to the violent trade winds that are currently blowing around the Braves and their organization, but there was a game tonight, and we've got to cover it. Unfortunately, it wasn't a good one for our Braves, as they fell victim to a sweep at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles after Atlanta lost 2-0 tonight.

Mike Foltynewicz made his return to the Braves' rotation, and it was a decent enough start. You can't really complain about six innings of work from a guy in a spot-start situation, especially when he tallies eight strikeouts and only two walks during that appearance. Unfortunately, Folty made two big mistakes and they ended up being the difference in tonight's game.

The first big mistake came in the third inning. Folty left a 93-mph fastball hanging, and Jonathan Schoop promptly gave his teammates in the O's bullpen out in left-center field a souvenir to give to the fans. The solo home run made it 1-0 for the O's, but that wasn't the only solo shot of the night for Baltimore.

Baltimore's second and final run of the night came in the very next inning, which is when J.J. Hardy managed to get just enough power on a curveball to golf it over the left field fence. The solo shot made it 2-0 Orioles at that point in the game.

Those two runs were enough for Baltimore to win tonight, because the Braves' anemic offense just could not figure out Chris Tillman. As a matter of fact, Tillman came four pitches and one out away from completing a "Maddux" on the Braves tonight. Cameron Maybin ruined that opportunity thanks to a ninth-inning double, and immediately after that, O's manager Buck Showalter pulled Tillman in favor of Zach Britton. Britton promptly closed the door shut on the Braves, and that ended the game.

Overall, the Braves have to be happy about one thing and one thing only, tonight: The fact that they'll be leaving Baltimore. The Braves rarely visit this stadium, and I'm sure that after these past three games, they probably won't miss it. It's been a miserable series for the Braves, but the positive is that it's over, and the Braves will get to move on.

Now, about those trade rumors...

<iframe src="http://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=1084096&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2015-07-29&team=Orioles&dh=0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" height="450" width = "450" style="border:1px solid black;"></iframe><br /><span style="font-size:9pt;">Source: <a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2015-07-29&team=Orioles&dh=0&season=2015">FanGraphs</a></span>