Baseball can be a weird sport sometimes and that is especially true when you look at a small sample of games. However, it is pretty hard to ignore the fact that the Atlanta Braves have been truly horrid on the road to start the 2025 season.
Again, the numbers are skewed due to a small 13 game sample that includes the Braves' 0-7 start against the Padres and Dodgers who are among the better teams in baseball. However, Atlanta has seemed to earn their 2-11 road record thanks to mediocre pitching and a dreadful 73 wRC+ on the road so far this season.
The Braves are heading back out on the road to change that this weekend. While going up against a 14-11 Diamondbacks team on the road may seem problematic given the Braves' struggles away from Truist Park, the matchup actually could be exactly what the Braves need.
Braves' weekend matchup against Diamondbacks could be chance for Atlanta to get back on track on the road
Looking at three games with Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, and Brandon Pfaadt on the mound for Arizona certainly doesn't seem overly promising, but looks are a bit deceiving here. While some teams like the Braves have radical home/road splits, the Diamondbacks haven't been. They are 7-6 at home vs. 7-5 on the road. Last season was very similar as they ended the season with a 44-37 home record versus 45-36 away from home.
Moreover, Arizona's pitching staff doesn't seem to be equipped to take advantage of the Braves' Achillies heel this year which is strikeouts. In 120 innings at home this year, the Diamondbacks sport a strikeout rate of just a 7.65 batters per nine innings at home (bottom seven in baseball) in addition to a mediocre 3.83 ERA and 3.71 FIP. Gallen has looked very vulnerable so far in 2025 except against the Yankees and Kelly hasn't exactly been awesome.
Again, it is on the Braves to do their part and replicate their recent success at home while away from Truist especially on offense. If the bats can get some confidence in Arizona and finally get going on the road, we can finally start shedding ourselves of this narrative that the Braves are cooked this season.