Video: Brian Snitker, Ronald Acuña Jr. on Braves Game 1 loss

The Atlanta Braves suffered an excruciating 7-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 1 of the NLDS Thursday at SunTrust Park. While the series isn’t over by a long shot and the Braves showed some life with a comeback attempt in the ninth that fell just short. However, this loss just made things way more difficult.

Brian Snitker was peppered with questions in regards to Ronald Acuña Jr’s performance. On one hand, he had three hits including a ninth inning homer, a four-star catch in center but was caught stealing in the first and that single probably would have been a double had he hustled out of the box. Snitker clearly wasn’t happy with the situation but said that he had not yet talked with Acuña about the situation yet. Snitker also discussed Chris Martin’s unfortunate injury and Mark Melancon’s performance.

Despite the big game, most of the postgame questions to Acuña centered on his base running error. Acuña acknowledged the mistake and said he tried to put it behind him.

Mark Melancon was tagged for five hits and four runs in just one inning of work. The Cardinals did a good job of grinding out at-bats as a couple of two-strike doubles recked Melancon’s evening. He owned it following the game saying that he thought it was a good performance from the bullpen and the loss was on him.

Freddie Freeman finished 2-for-4 with a homer and talked about the missed opportunities and how Game 2 is now a must-win situation for the Braves. He was also asked about Acuña and called him not running out of the box “frustrating” and added that it is something “that simply can’t happen.”

Dallas Keuchel pitched in and out of trouble early before exiting having allowed five hits, three walks and one run in just 4 2/3 innings. After the game he talked about navigating a tough Cardinals lineup and exiting after having thrown just 74 pitches.

Brian McCann discussed the need to play mistake free baseball as a key to winning in the postseason. McCann was also asked about Acuña’s base running mistake and acknowledged that it was something that can’t happen but said that you turn the page and come out tomorrow and try to get a win.