Braves had started 61–37. In 1982, the Braves lost 19 of their next 21 games after the 61–37 start. In 1983, it was hoped they would do better. On Monday Atlanta blew a ninth-inning 4–1 lead to the Mets to slip to 61–38. On Tuesday the Braves lost 2–1 to the Mets in ten innings on a homer by Mookie Wilson. The Braves were 61–39 and already fans on WSB radio were complaining about another Braves collapse. However, the Braves won three of their next four to go to 64–40 and a six-game lead in the Western Division on July 30. On Thursday August 4 Atlanta routed the San Francisco Giants 8–1 to raise their record to 67–42. It was the first time since coming to Atlanta in 1966 that the Braves were 25 games above the .500 mark. The Braves also had a -game lead. However, on Friday and Saturday the Dodgers beat Atlanta 2–1 and 4–2 to reduce the lead to . The Braves salvaged the final game of the series with a 5–2 win on Sunday, upping their lead back to games. The Braves were 71–46 on Saturday, August 13, after beating the LA Dodgers 8–7 on a Bob Watson come -from- behind homer in the bottom of the ninth. The Braves were games ahead of the Dodgers at this point and things were looking good for them. Braves fans were extremely enthusiastic and confident. The next day the Braves lost 5–4 to the Dodgers and then on Monday August 15 they not only lost 4–0 to the San Diego Padres but they lost their cleanup hitter Bob Horner to a season-ending wrist injury. Horner was batting .303 with 20 homers at that point. His loss would prove to be a disaster for the Braves. After Horner's injury the Braves spiraled down and were soon overtaken by the Dodgers. On August 29 the Braves slipped into second place behind LA with a 7–5 loss to the Chicago Cubs. This loss was the first of six straight. Overall, the Braves lost nine of ten games from August 25 to September 3, going from 75–51 and two games ahead to 76–60 and out. On Sunday September 11 the Braves led Los Angeles 6–3 going into the bottom of the ninth. They were two games behind and were in position to cut the Dodger lead to one game. However, LA