The Braves once again turned in a pathetic offensive output against the Boston Red Sox, totaling just seven runs and wasting a golden opportunity to gain some ground on the Phillies, who were swept by the Milwaukee Brewers. Atlanta seemingly refuses to hit with runners on base, and it’s led to a 27-31 record, the fourth-worst mark in the National League.

Yes, the Braves have a better record than just three NL teams — the Rockies, Pirates, and Marlins. That’s not the group of clubs you want to be lumped together with, but after two-plus months of play, that’s right where Atlanta belongs. The Braves are 9.5 games behind the Mets in the NL East and 5.5 games back of the final wild card spot, with a total of nine teams in front of them in the wild card race.

NL Wild Card Standings

1. Phillies
2. Padres
3. Cardinals
4. Giants
5. Brewers — 1.5 GB
6. Reds — 4.5 GB
7. Nationals — 5 GB
8. Diamondbacks — 5 GB
9. Nationals — 5.5 GB

I cannot remember the last time the Braves were in fourth place in the division, and while there’s still a ton of time to make up 5.5 games, the number of teams in front of them will make it that much more difficult. They don’t just need to be several games better than one or two clubs over the final four months; they need to be several games better than seven.

That’s not a good sign for the Braves playoff hopes, especially with the injuries beginning to pile up. Joe Jimenez and Reynaldo Lopez have been on the 60-day IL. AJ Smith-Shawver joined them over the weekend, as he will miss the rest of the season after tearing his UCL. And in the latest bit of news, Marcell Ozuna — the Braves best offensive player over the last two seasons — is dealing with a hip injury.

It will be an uphill battle for Atlanta to keep their streak of seven consecutive postseason appearances alive. However, slow starts are not atypical for the Braves. This is a club that was under .500 around this point just a few years ago and went on to win 101 games, chasing down the Mets from 10.5 games down to win the NL East.