After the Atlanta Braves lost four stragith to the San Diego Padres begin the year, a mixed reaction of "it's only March" and some real concerns can be felt. With Ronald Acuna Jr. returning this year along with ace Spencer Strider, the Braves are hopeful they can return to the production they saw in 2023 before they were ravaged with injuries last season.
Still, these two overreactions from Opening Day weekend are more important than you think.
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1. Ice cold offense resembles 2024 troubles
Last year, the Braves suffered massive injuries all year long. They lost Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, and Austin Riley, and it seemed they could never get into a real groove. They went from 1st in the league in Runs Per Game in 2023 to 15th in 2024, which showed as they narrowly accomplished a Wild Card berth a season ago. Looking ahead to 2025, the Braves have started their offense with a case of anemia, and several key sluggers are struggling out of the game.
Matt Olson (1.67), Riley (.143), Albies (.133), and Michael Harris II (.067) all must do better. This team's offense is now healthy, minus Acuna, and needs to find a way to gel. There's no reason they can't get back closer to the 5.00 RPG mark, and not picking up at least one win in San Diego is troubling, even if it is very early in the season.
2. Falling behind 0-4 with a tough schedule ahead
Starting the year four games under .500 isn't something you can shrug your shoulders about, even if it was just the year's first series. The Braves' April schedule starts against the Los Angeles Dodgers and consists of a series with the Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Things lighten up a little from there, but at the end of May, the Braves enter a tough stretch where they face the an Diego Padres, Phillies, Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants, and Milwaukee Brewers. They also faced off against the New York Mets for seven games and the Phillies again before ending June.
That comes to 32 more games against playoff-caliber opponents by the end of June, so starting without a win in four games is not the way to forecast a positive outlook on the season. The Braves need to find a way to hand the Dodgers a loss coming up, and then take advantage before their schedule gets hectic against more formidable opponents. They can ill-afford to be behind in the NL East or Wild Card picture for very long this year.