The Atlanta Braves have not played well at all during June, and it's caused them to drop in the power rankings and lose their double-digit division lead. Atlanta held on to the top spot for a while after a hot start to the season.
However, the offense appears to be smoldering now and looks more like the disappointing 2025 version of itself. This isn't a recipe for success if they have any hopes of winning the division or reaching the postseason.
Opposing teams have learned a slight weakness for this team, and it appears to be left-handed pitching.
Left-handed pitching has become a sort of kryptonite for the Atlanta Braves offense
The Braves overall have struggled against left-handed pitching, with a .242 average against southpaws. Right-handed bats have especially struggled against left-handed pitching and are slashing .232/.292/.376 against left-handed pitching with a .668 OPS.
Interestingly enough, left-handed hitters have done a much better job against lefty pitchers. They have a .259/.326/.453 slash line with a .779 OPS. That's a pretty drastic difference, and if the team has any hope of changing this, they'll need to fix it quickly. This could explain how the offense has gotten progressively worse each month of the season. The team started with a .271 average in April, but then it dropped to .246 in May and .214 so far in June.
May was at least similar enough that it wasn't alarming. However, the drop-off in June is very concerning. Atlanta has just 155 hits through June 29th, with just 74 runs scored and a .601 OPS. Interestingly enough, the team has struck out less in June compared to the first two months. However, they are not walking nearly as often as they were before this month.
The Braves' pitching staff has certainly truggled recently as well, but the offense averaging only 3.4 runs per game in June versus 4.9 in May really hasn't helped. Chris Sale has pitched pretty well, but the Braves have only scored two runs over his last four starts. That is not encouraging in the slightest.
This is starting to feel too familiar to the struggles of the failure that was the 2025 season. If things don't change soon, hitting coach Tim Hyers may be looking for a new job sooner than he expected. Hopefully, July is the return to being baseball's best team, and this will just be a blip on the radar at season's end.
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