Losers of seven of their last nine games, the Atlanta Braves are quickly falling out of the National League East race. The story last night was more of the same for Atlanta, hard hit baseballs with no results, runners on the base all night with no one producing THE big hit, and a nine inning effort where just one run came across home plate.
The entire 26-man roster have played a part in Atlanta's 26-30 start to the season, with each night offering a different reason for fans to shake their head in disappointment. Manager Brian Snitker is the usual target for much of the fanbase, and to be fair some of the criticism is warranted at times.
Last night, it was the decision to leave starting pitcher Grant Holmes in against Abraham Toro. The Red Sox first baseman was already 2-2 on the night, and his sixth inning RBI double off Holmes gave Boston a two-run lead. If you remember earlier this season in Arizona, Holmes was allowed to face Eugenio Suarez for a third time despite already allowing two bombs. Suarez would of course homer again off of Holmes, and Snitker repeated that mistake when he sat idly by with Toro coming up.
However, the lack of an aggressive move to the bullpen there wasn't the reason the Braves helped snap Boston's losing streak. Instead it was predominantly due to another lackluster performance from Atlanta's offense.
When Holmes was allowed to face Eugenio Suarez for a third time on April 26, Snit essentially said the odds were in Holmes favor because he'd already allowed him to homer twice in the game. He homered again just like Toro just improved to 3-for-3 w/ that RBI double.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) May 31, 2025
Braves offense refusing to score runs at a rather unimpressive rate
As of Saturday morning, the Braves have scored one more run (230) on the season than the Miami Marlins (229). A team with zero former All-Stars in the lineup has basically done the same amount of damage as the supposedly star-studded Atlanta Braves lineup. It's true early season struggles from Ozzie Albies, Michael Harris II, and Austin Riley aren't expected to continue, but the solution HAS to come now.
Atlanta can't keep dropping games at this rate and expect to have a chance to make the postseason in a deep National League field. As mentioned earlier, Brian Snitker takes the brunt of blame for the underperformance of this team.
However, Snitker can't make these players hit. He can't give some magic sign to produce an extra-base hit with men on base. He can't give some life altering speech that will make these professionals scratch more runs out on any given night. The 2025 Braves problems begin and end with the offense. If they don't figure it out, Brian Snitker may just end up being the fall guy.