Braves latest Atlanta team to suffer collapse vs. Boston

Atlanta fans are no strangers to the blown lead at the hands of a Boston sports team. The 28-3 collapse at Super Bowl 51 was a loss that the Falcons will never forget. And on Wednesday, the Braves may have jeopardized their playoff hopes with their own collapse against a New England sports franchise.

After dropping the first two games of their series against the Red Sox, the Braves looked poised to avoid a sweep. Ronald Acuña Jr. hit his franchise-record eighth leadoff home run. And by the eighth inning, the Braves were up six runs on the Red Sox.

This season, MLB teams were 487-0 when leading by six runs or more in the eighth inning. But no lead is safe in Atlanta, apparently.

The Red Sox erupted with a six-run inning that was made possible by a combination of questionable pitching choices, a shaky bullpen and two defensive blunders. Despite all that, Freddie Freeman put the Braves back up in the eighth inning with a solo home run.

Like with Julio Jones' catch in the Super Bowl, Atlanta appeared poised to escape a near-collapse with a win. Then, Brandon Phillips happened.

Phillips was playing in his first game with the Red Sox, and he waited little time to make an impact. With two outs in the ninth and a runner on, he crushed a no-doubt, go-ahead home run off A.J. Minter. It was the first Red Sox lead of the game, and the Braves would fall, 9-8, after Craig Kimbrel shut the door in the ninth.

In a September playoff race, losses really don't get any worse. Baseball fans were already recognizing the parallels with that Falcons Super Bowl collapse.

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