Dansby Swanson burns sage in bid to help Braves break out of slump

The Atlanta Braves were coming off back-to-back miserable performances heading into Monday’s game against the Chicago Cubs at Truist Park. In an extremely new-age effort to break the mini-slump, Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson burned sage throughout the team’s home ballpark in a bid to restore some positive mojo.

And for at least one game, the outside-the-box sage burning perhaps paid off, as the Braves pulled out an 8-7 victory over the visiting Cubs.

“Every bit of area I could find in this place, I went into,” Swanson said after Monday’s game, per ESPN. “I might have to bring some tomorrow, too.”

Monday’s big win followed the Braves suffering through consecutive shutout losses in a doubleheader Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks — in which Atlanta produced only one hit across 14 innings — that included Madison Bumgarner’s seven-inning “no-hitter.”

“All year, I’ve been like if it gets to a point, I’m bringing sage in here — and I think yesterday was finally to that point,” Swanson, who hit an opposite-field homer in the victory to contribute to the cause, said. “I pretty much walked every bit of area you can find in this place, I went into. It was fun.”