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The World Series-defending Atlanta Braves looked like anything but a championship team after they were clobbered 12-1 by the San Diego Padres on Thursday night.
The score was the most lopsided San Diego Padres home opener since they beat the Braves 17-2 on Opening Day in 2010.
Braves fans, who are used to winning ballgames and winning them handily, have taken to Twitter to voice their malcontent.
Atlanta Braves fans spam Twitter with hilarious expressions of dissapointment
Padres third baseman Manny Machado went 5-6 with a pair of RBIs, acting as the catalyst in the lopsided victory.
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"@Braves This man OWNS you" - @ Larry Cronenworth
Machado, who is entering his fourth season with the Padres, knocked home a career-best 100 runs last year. In 2022, he will be looking to build on that success as the Padres battle for the National League West title.
"You just got Beat by Manny Moo-chado and the Padres" - @ FatDog Chubbs
Although the Braves scored more runs than almost any other team last season, their showing against the Padres last night has made fans doubt the team's ability to score. This comes after franchise player Freddie Freeman departed Atlanta after 12 seasons, signing with the LA Dodgers.
"Interesting strategy by the Braves… score as few as possible while allowing the opposing team to score as much as possible." - @ Max Fried's Cigar Smoke
Braves starter Conor Morton lasted five innings, not before being knocked around for nine hits and five earned runs.
"Wish I knew y’all sucked again before I went and bought tickets to the next 3 games." - @ Brayden
The Atlanta Braves are now off to a 3-5 start, good enough to put them behind the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East.
"The braves complete “champion’s week” with a -14 rdiff. Hey um, this is a new season. Let’s stop celebrating last season and play ball." - @ A dude online
In the first week of the season, the Braves were outscored by 14. This is leading some fans to get fatalistic very early on in the season.
The Atlanta Braves will finish their series with the Padres on Monday and then travel to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers and meet their old teammate, Freddie Freeman.
"@Braves Hey fellas, just a reminder that the season has started, feel free to start playing Baseball anytime now" - @ David Stinson
The single run in the big loss to the Padres was driven home by second baseman Ozzie Albies.
"I thought y’all were the champs?" - @ A.
Although it is early going, Matt Olson and his team know that these kinds of performances cannot become commonplace. If they do, the Atlanta Braves risk one of the most anti-climactic World Series hangovers in modern history.
