The 2025 Braves are spiraling out of control. Following a weekend sweep at the hands of the Giants, Atlanta has reached seven consecutive losses for the second time this year. Their 27-37 record is the seventh worst in all of baseball, and they have fallen 14 games behind the first-place Mets in the National League East.
As if the results themselves aren’t dismaying enough for a preseason World Series favorite, the nature of the losses have been particularly heartbreaking time and time again. Atlanta is competitive in almost every game, but it tends to avoid winning close contests. In the closest games of all, the one-run variety, the Braves are a putrid 9-19. That is the most one-run losses in MLB this year, and their winning percentage in those games is only better than the Red Sox and White Sox.
Close game futility has reached historic levels
The Braves’ supreme inability to win one-run games is as rare as it is shocking. Shawn Coleman from SB Nation’s Battery Power points out that 19 one-run losses are the most through 64 games in 33 years.
Braves have 19 1 run losses through 64 games this season.
That is the most such losses through 64 regular season games since the 92 Dodgers
I know the stat is very specific, but it is meant to show the gut wrenching fashion in which the Braves are losing so many games
— Shawn Coleman (@StatsSAC) June 8, 2025
That Dodgers club finished with the worst record in baseball that year, and 15 more one-run losses than the next closest team with 40. The 1968 White Sox hold the modern-era single-season record with 43, and through 64 games, they had 16. Yes, that means the 2025 Braves are currently on pace to be the worst team of all time in one-run games by a comfortable margin.
The problem is that this Braves team is nowhere near as bad as the others. Amazingly, Atlanta holds a positive run differential of +3 despite being 10 games below .500. Stats like those are a clear sign of a broken team.
Late game woes
The Braves’ problems are numerous, but their inability to win close games primarily stems from two issues: a shaky bullpen and a lack of clutch hitting. The starting pitching has been solid all year, even during this recent rough patch for the team, with a collective ERA of 3.75 that ranks in the top half of MLB teams. Time and time again, we see the starter keep the team in the game, only for it all to come crashing down once they depart.
The most glaring example came last Thursday, when Scott Blewett and Raisel Iglesias allowed seven runs in the ninth inning in an embarrassing 11-10 loss to the Diamondbacks. Blewett was promptly DFA’d, and Iglesias was removed from the closer role. Many dubbed this rock bottom, but the Braves weren’t out of tricks. Experimental new closer Pierce Johnson was called upon late in each of the next two games vs the Giants, and allowed walk-offs to lose both by a single run apiece.
The Atlanta Braves have lost again on a walk-off. This is their 6th straight loss, and listen to the Braves’ announcers on this call of Matt Chapman’s walk-off home run
pic.twitter.com/j38GvaEZnt
— js9innings (@js9inningsmedia) June 7, 2025
A bad bullpen is easier to stomach if the offense picks them up once in a while. However, the Braves have rarely been able to come through with a big hit when it is needed late in games. In late/close situations (defined as the 7th inning or later and a differential of three runs or less), the team as a whole is slashing a terrible .199/.307/.299. All of those marks are near the bottom of the league, and it’s not like they are crushing the ball in all the other innings either. Add everything up, and it’s a truly toxic combination that has resulted in haunting losses over and over again.
One-run losses are taking their toll
There’s only so much heartbreak a team can endure, and all these close calls with no cigar are destroying morale in the Braves clubhouse. After Sunday’s game, third baseman Austin Riley stated in a defeated tone: “I’m a little lost for words, explanations on what it is to get us going right now.” This sentiment is shared by the other players and manager Brian Snitker, who routinely appears shell-shocked in post-game interviews.
Supposedly strong teams on paper don’t just lose this many close games due to bad luck. No, there is a discernible lack of leadership, competitive fire, and grit from this club right now. It’s confusing and disappointing, coming from the same team that went on a miraculous World Series run just four years ago, with several of the same core players. Between the preseason expectations and dreadful play, it’s safe to say this is currently the most hellish stretch of Braves baseball in a very long time.
Main Photo Credits: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
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