All good things must come to an end.
This finally applies to the Braves’ series winning streak to start the 2026 season, which came to an end Wednesday in Seattle.
After blowing a lead in Monday’s loss and winning Tuesday on Matt Olson’s ninth-inning homer, Atlanta’s bats fell flat in a 3-1 loss in the series finale vs. the Mariners. After winning 10 of their first 11 series and splitting a four-game set in the other, the streak finally ended in the middle series of the longest road trip of the Braves’ season.
It would appear the Braves (26-12) just missed the ideal time to face Seattle (18-20) right-hander Bryan Woo. After he had allowed 13 runs on 16 hits — including six home runs — in his last two starts, Woo (2-2) allowed just three baserunners (one hit, two walks) through six innings against the Braves’ potent lineup on Wednesday, striking out nine.
The Braves’ only hit off Woo was Mauricio Dubon’s two-out single in the fourth inning. That prevented them from being held hitless through four innings for the first time this season, but they were largely stifled by the Seattle starter.
The only saving grace was the Braves fouled off enough pitches that they drove Woo’s pitch count and chased him after six innings.
Martín Pérez (2-2) did well to keep the game tight and give the offense a chance to wake up throughout his start. His day ended on a somewhat sour note when he hung a 3-1 changeup which Julio Rodriguez smashed out of the park to center field. But it wasn’t a bad day by any means for Pérez, who allowed two runs on five hits over 5 2/3 innings, striking out five and walking one.
The Braves finally broke onto the scoreboard into the eighth against Eduard Bazardo, putting runners on the corners with no outs on back-to-back singles and plating their first run on a Dominic Smith sacrifice fly.
A brutal pickoff from pinch runner Jorge Mateo, who represented the tying run, derailed the rally attempt. A bad mistake was made that much worse when Drake Baldwin followed with a single which would have put Mateo in scoring position with one out and the strong part of the Atlanta lineup coming up.
Seattle tacked on an insurance run in the ninth off Didier Fuentes, who struck out four and allowed one run on two hits over two relief innings. That wound up being unnecessary when the heart of the Braves order was retired in order in the ninth.
The Braves finished with just four hits and two walks while striking out 12 times. That included two strikeouts each by Baldwin, Olson, Dubon and Austin Riley. Jim Jarvis, called up Wednesday morning for his major league debut, was 0-for-2 with a strikeout before Smith pinch hit for him in the eighth.
