The Atlanta Braves are off to a rough start. They began the season with a four-game sweep at the hands of the San Diego Padres. They finished out the weekend with 22 consecutive scoreless innings and hit just .045 (1-22) with runners in scoring position. In the final game of the series, they sent only 27 batters to the plate. Things could get worse, as the Braves head up the coast to La La Land to take on the 5-0 Dodgers in a three-game series beginning tonight.

The Braves are a long way from equaling their worst start ever. In 1988, they lost their first 10 games on their way to a 54-106 record and a last place finish in the National League West, 27 games behind the fifth-place Houston Astros.

Opening Night 1988 was a harbinger of bad things to come that season. The Braves were down 4-1 to the Chicago Cubs going into the bottom of the fourth, but they put up seven runs in their half of the inning fueled by a pair of two-run homers from Ken Oberkfell and Gerald Perry.

The Braves were up 9-7 heading into the top of the ninth with Bruce Sutter on the mound for the save. It was Sutter’s first appearance after missing the entire season in 1987 trying to recover from shoulder surgery he had in December of 1985. Sutter began his comeback by walking Ryne Sandberg and giving up a double to Andre Dawson. The Cubs tied the score and eventually won the game 10-9 in 13 innings.

After nine more losses, the Braves finally got into the win column when they beat the Dodgers 3-1 on April 17 behind a four-hit, complete game performance by Zane Smith.

The 1988 Braves had four future members of the Baseball Hall of Fame on their roster. In addition to Sutter, Ted Simmons was in his final season, and pitchers Tom Glavine and John Smoltz were in the beginning stages of their careers.

As bad as the Braves were in ‘88, I also remember their 1979 season getting off to a frustrating start. They lost to the Astros 2-1 on Opening Night, and then Ken Forsch threw a no-hitter the following night. Joe Niekro tossed a shutout in the third game, and it felt as if the Braves never were going to score again.

The Braves snapped a 24-inning scoreless streak in the fourth inning of the next game thanks to a three-run homer by Gary Matthews. But they were down 4-0 at the time, and Braves’ pitchers gave up runs in each of the first six innings on their way to a 9-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

Phil Niekro ended the season-opening drought the next night by pitching seven strong innings and driving in the Braves’ first run in a 6-4 victory. The Braves finished last in 1979, 23.5 games out of first place; it was their fourth straight last-place finish.

Not to be outdone, the 1980 Braves lost their first seven games, but rebounded to finish the season a game over .500 at 81-80. And with a fourth-place finish, they finally escaped the cellar of the National League West.

I think this year’s version of the Braves is a much better team than the 1988, 1979, or 1980 crews. But losses in March count just as much as losses in September, so I hope the Braves can turn things around soon.

Maybe the Braves could jump-start their offense by finding out where the Yankees got those new-fangled torpedo bats they used against the Milwaukee Brewers this weekend.

(All game details are from Retrosheet.)