Things were not looking good Tuesday night for the Braves when rookie Robert Whalen, who’d been staked to a 2-0 lead, saw his pitch command completely abandon him after he’d recorded the first two outs of the third inning. He failed to retire any of the next six batters in a four-run inning that gave Arizona a 4-2 lead.
Whalen was replaced after giving up a two-run ground-rule double to Jake Lamb, and it was up to a weary Braves bullpen to try to hold the Diamondbacks at bay the rest of the way — a bullpen that’s struggled lately, perhaps showing cracks from a heavy workload.