Yep, the Atlanta Braves just got done losing another series. They haven’t won a series at home since they swept the Mets last month. If you vaguely take a look at the majority of these series that the Braves have played (and lost) during this season, something resembling a “carrot-and-stick” pattern begins to emerge.
The first or second game usually sees the Braves play the type of game that reminds you of the Halcyon days from not too long ago — back when Atlanta was a near-juggernaut and a real force to be reckoned with. It’s the type of game that makes you think for just a split second that maybe, just maybe, they’re going to get their stuff together and go on a run. That’s the carrot.
Then the other two games convince you that if the Braves are going to make a run, it’ll be in the year 2026 because it’s more-than-likely not going to happen here in 2025. Those other two games usually contain the usual tomfoolery that’s come to define what’s turned into a lost season for the Braves so far. Poor pitching? Check. Bad luck on batted balls as well? Got that. Lineup has a complete, utter and extended power outage at some point? You already know. That’s the stick.
Anyways, we got all of that and then some in this series. I know you’re just chomping at the bit to go into this, so let’s hop right into it.
Monday, July 21Braves 9, Giants 4
Here’s your carrot. While part of this performance could be explained by the San Francisco Giants themselves playing a sloppy game, that doesn’t take away from the fact that this was one of those games that gives you a teensy, tiny glimmer of hope that maybe we’ll start seeing this Braves team do great things as a unit again. Anyways, Atlanta jumped on Hayden Birdsong to the point where he exited the game without recording a single out. The Braves scored five in the first, with all five runs being credited to Birdsong. This included the major blow of a bases-clearing double from Drake Baldwin that brought home three — including Ronald Acuña Jr., who blew through Fredi González’s stop sign and followed Matt Olson home to make it 3-1.
San Francisco added one run each in the fifth, seventh and ninth inning but Bryce Elder’s performance on the mound made sure that it was nowhere near enough to topple the Braves on this night. Elder finished with five innings and managed to only give up three runs despite giving up eight hits and three walks while he was out there. This was not a spectacular performance from Elder by any means but it got the job done on this particular night.
Atlanta delivered the knockout shot in the fourth inning, as they added three more runs to make it 8-2 at the time. Drake Baldwin added on another two RBI (he’d finish with a whopping six RBI on the night) and Ozzie Albies’ RBI single was the knock that brought us to the 8-2 score. It eventually ended 9-4 and after this one, the only question was whether or not the Braves could actually parlay this into a good run of form or if this would be another one-and-done moment for this team during this season.
Tuesday, July 22Giants 9, Braves 0
Now, here comes the stick. The Giants didn’t waste too much time before eventually giving Davis Daniel the baseball business in the second inning. Matt Chapman hit a deep fly ball for a triple that got the Giants on the board, two sacrifice flies and a solo shot from Casey Schmitt made it a four-run second inning for San Francisco. Daniel made it through five innings but that was just about the only thing positive that you could say about how it went, as Daniel left the game with the Braves down 5-0 after the Willy Adames gave him a parting gift of an RBI single.
Things didn’t get much better later on. Wander Suero was the first pitcher out of the bullpen and folks, it didn’t go particularly well. His first inning was fine (more on that, later) but he got tapped for another inning and that’s when things went sideways. A leadoff walk was the first sign of trouble and it eventually cascaded into four more runs on the board for the Giants — including a three-run shot from Wilmer Flores that essentially closed the curtain on this one.
Remember when I mentioned Suero’s first inning was worth mentioning? Well, that’s because Ronald Acuña Jr. picked up another outfield assist during this frame. The guy is still worth the price of admission, y’all.
Wednesday, July 23Giants 9, Braves 3
For the first half of this game, it sure seemed like we were about to get a pitchers’ duel against the young hurler in Spencer Strider and the crafty veteran in Justin Verlander. Verlander wasn’t particularly great but you can’t knock his hustle since the Braves were unable to do anything with him while he was out there. Sadly, Strider couldn’t say the same once the fifth inning rolled around. Despite the fact that he was somewhat in control at this point, it didn’t matter as Rafael Devers golfed a pitch that should’ve been ball four all the way into the seats for a deadlock-breaking homer.
Strider could feel hard-done by giving up a homer like that but it’s safe to assume that he definitely wanted back the pitch that Matt Chapman hit out later on in the frame. What was a scoreless duel ended up going firmly into San Francisco’s control and that’s how it would stay. Dylan Dodd and Dane Dunning delved into the duel following Strider’s departure and things didn’t go all that well for them, either. Rafael Devers added his second homer of the game in the sixth inning with a three-run shot off of Dodd and then the Giants slowly but surely racked up three more runs off of Dunning in the seventh. Once the smoke was clear, though, the Giants were up 9-0 and a series loss was all but guaranteed at that point.
Atlanta avoided getting shut out for a second game in a row as they hung three runs on Sean Hjelle in the bottom of the seventh inning. A leadoff walk from Eli White eventually got cashed in thanks to a two-run double from Drake Baldwin and a productive out from Sean Murphy made it a 9-3 game. It was simply window dressing fora house that has been on fire since, oh, I don’t know, late-March?
There you have it! We got the sweet, delicious, crispy carrot with the first game of this series and then the Giants whacked the Braves upside their heads with a big ol’ tree branch in order to take this series. While it was lovely to see Drake Baldwin keep up the good work at the plate and seeing Ronald Acuña Jr. continue to do Ronald Acuña Jr.-type stuff, it’s still frustrating to watch this year’s squad on a nightly basis. The flashes of brilliance (both from the past and the future) are there but they’re just that — flashes and glimpses. This team hasn’t had an extended period out in the sunshine where they’ve gotten on a good and extended run of form and we still have yet to see it.
Atlanta won’t play another home game until after the Speedway Classic, so now the Braves are going to be on the road for a bit. They’ll be getting acquainted with a pair of other teams that haven’t been doing so hot compared to expectations here in 2025. Will the Braves take this as an opportunity to at least start playing consistently better baseball? Or will we see them fall deeper and deeper into the baseball doldrums? We’ll see what happens.
