Braves At Halftime...This Looks Familiar
Yesterday the Atlanta Braves played their 83rd game of the 2025 season, meaning tbe first game of the season's second half. They lost. In yet another one- run game the Braves fell short to leave their record at 38- 45.
And somehow the game did not seem that close. Because tbeir offense was listless– again. The Braves advanced only two players asfar as second base. The first was Sean Murphy, on his second inning home run. Tbe second was Ozzie Albies, who scampered from first to third base on a ninth- inning walk plus passed ball to batter Eli White. With two outs, there was brief, faint hope. But Stuart Fairchild hit a lazy fly ball to right to end the game.
Again the Braves had no punch. In the three game series vs Philadelphia, Atlanta scored seven runs total, from a 0, 6, 1 sequence. Thus Philly won games one and three and captured the series.
Atlanta still has hope of gaining a playoff spot, but time is getting thin. They see the Mets only six more times in 2025, and the Phillies just four.
There is hope that suspended outfielder Jurickson Profar will bring some life to the Atlanta attack when he returns on July 2. Profar has had a productive stint in Gwinnett awaiting his return to the lineup, hitting for average and with power. Either would be a welcome change to the Braves tepid order, where the last three or four batters in the line -up added almost no production.
On Sunday those players were White, Fairchild and Nick Allen. They went a collective 0 for 8, with two walks. Granted, the Braves as a team didn't fare much better, but the bottom third of the order has been a nearly daily problem, explaining in part why the Braves record is so poor when scoring three or fewer runs (3-34).
Profar should add some energy to the cast, what with his switch- hitting and respectable power. If he can make the Braves even a bit more potent, and if Chris Sale can return fairly soon, Atlanta could make the playoffs and do well when they get there.
Making up 11 games to take the division is a tall task. Another wild card spot is still doable though.
Patrick Conarro
RamblinSports.com