Chad Bishop

On June 24, two earthquakes caused devastating damage in northern Venezuela, the home country of several Braves players and coaches. "It's bad, man," Braves pitcher Martín Pérez said Tuesday, the second time he has started a game since the natural disaster occurred. "Seeing your country - a lot of people got affected (by) that. It's hard for me to not be out there trying to help people.

The Braves' summer malaise is getting close to a free fall after yet another loss, this one at the hands of the visiting Cardinals at Truist Park on Tuesday. Against Cardinals' starting pitcher Matthew Liberatore, the Braves mustered just one hit and one run through five innings of an eventual 5-3 loss. It was the team's 13th loss in the last 17 games and they're now on their third losing streak of at least three games during that stretch.

The news, as it pertains to Braves' star right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr., on Tuesday at Truist Park was not promising. Acuña has not played since June 9 when he left a loss to the White Sox in Chicago with a hamstring strain. Despite being at Truist Park on Tuesday where he was going through a series of running drills, manager Walt Weiss indicated it could be two more weeks before Acuña is activated from the 10-day injured list.