So close, yet so far away. This phrase describes the 2025 Atlanta Braves in more ways than one. It seems Atlanta has spent the first two months of this season anticipating a return to full health, biding their time until and superstars Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider finally recovered from last year's season-ending injuries. But even now that both players are back, things have not gone exactly as planned.
Atlanta is now 9.5 games back in the NL East and three games under .500 after being shut out in a 2-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday — in a game Strider pitched, no less. If that sort of scoreline seems familiar, well, it should: The Braves' last 10 losses have all come by two runs or less, a run of bad close-game luck that feels almost impossible.
How you view that luck is likely in the eye of the beholder. But as we reach the summer and the Braves seem no closer to making a playoff push, fans are left to wonder whether this is a silver lining or a sign of more struggles to come.
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Braves are close to being really good ... kind of
A lineup with players like Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley and Matt Olson should not get stalled out for an extended period of time. But at this point, fans have been told to be patient for over a year now, from the entire 2024 season into the first couple months of 2025.
Atlanta losing all of these close games is sort of a double-edge sword. It proves that the Braves can compete with anyone in the league, but at a certain point, it also proves that they're not able to get over the hump. When does close-game luck stop being about luck, and start being about a bullpen that still can't figure itself out and a lineup that's been stuck in neutral (especially with runners in scoring position) for a season and a half now?
With the Braves finally fully healthy, the next few weeks will be telling about the rest of their season. Winning half of the close games they are currently dropping would make a big difference in their postseason position, either in the division or even for a Wild Card spot. The problem is that there are so many aspects of their roster that needs to be improved for them to reach their full potential. But on any given night, if someone steps up, Atlanta could see the results they have been looking for all along amid these struggles.