Following a season-opening sweep against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Athletics began their second series against the Atlanta Braves hoping to finally get in the win column this season. Alas, that will have to wait another day as the Braves shut out the A’s 4-0, extending the visitors’ losing streak to four games.

Making his first start of the season, A’s left-hander Jacob Lopez’s command issues were apparent from the jump. In the top of the first, Braves starter Bryce Elder retired the first three A’s batters in order. Then Lopez took the mound and immediately put his team in a hole. He walked three, gave up three hits and three runs. The Braves sent all nine batters to the plate in Lopez’s 41-pitch first inning. Atlanta first baseman Matt Olson’s RBI double and shortstop Mauricio Dubón’s two-run single were both bloops that found grass. So, in a sense, Atlanta got lucky, yet Lopez deserved to get punished for his command struggles that inning.

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Lopez endured three more innings without allowing any more runs. He only allowed one hard hit ball as four of Atlanta’s five hits had exit velocities of 81 mph or lower. However, failing to record a strikeout while walking five sums up Lopez’s performance.

Meanwhile, the A’s offense continued its early-season slump. Braves’ pitcher Bryce Elder, who had a 5.30 ERA last year and may not not have started this season in his team’s rotation were it not for injuries to his teammates, pitched six scoreless innings, only allowing five hits while striking out five A’s batters.

The A’s had several chances to reduce the Braves’ lead. In the third inning, first baseman Nick Kurtz lined out following right fielder Carlos Cortes’ two-out double. The next inning, the A’s had a rally going as Tyler Soderstrom and Brent Rooker hit back-to-back singles to bring the tying run up to the plate. Unfortunately, Elder got both Jacob Wilson and Lawrence Butler to fly out to center to escape the jam unscathed.

The Athletics had more chances in the later innings. In the seventh inning, third baseman Max Muncy hit a double off Braves’ left-handed reliever Aaron Bummer with one out, only for his teammates to leave him stranded on second base. In the top of the eighth inning, right-hander Robert Suarez got Rooker to ground into a double-play to stop another A’s rally and keep his team’s shutout going.

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While the A’s offense continued its futility, the team’s relievers kept the deficit the same, a welcome sight given that group’s poor performance in Toronto this past weekend. Justin Sterner, Elvis Alvarado and Mark Leiter Jr. all pitched scoreless innings out of the bullpen before the Braves scored a fourth run against Michael Kelly Jr.in the bottom of the eighth.

Throughout this game, the A’s had several chances to score runs and mount a comeback, yet failed to record the big hit every time. They hit several hard-hit balls right to Braves’ defenders, finishing the game 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Kurtz and Wilson, who finished first and second in American League Rookie of the Year voting last fall, both went 0-for-4, continuing their miserable performance through the season’s first four games. Whether it is due to their place in the lineup or a harbinger of a sophomore slump, the A’s need these two players to start contributing more given how much of an impact they have on this team’s offense.

The Athletics will try to get their offense rolling and snap this losing streak tomorrow in the second game of the series. Right-hander Aaron Civale will make his A’s debut, while the Braves have left-hander Jose Suarez lined up to start. With the A’s likely to face Braves ace pitcher Chris Sale in Wednesday’s series finale, they face another possibility of a series sweep should they not win the middle game of this inter-league series.