One step forward and two steps back appears to be how the Braves are functioning at this point
I hope y’all enjoyed the All-Star break and all the time off that came from that. While we all certainly love this sport and the Atlanta Braves themselves, I can totally understand if y’all used this time during the break to really dive into other things. Well, now the break’s over and the Braves were back in action over the weekend as they hosted the New York Yankees in what would’ve been a high-profile series had the home team held up their end of the bargain here in 2025.
It would’ve been reasonable to look at this season’s schedule during spring training and anticipate this as being one of the most exciting series of the year. After all, Aaron Judge is Aaron Judge, Max Fried was coming back to town, the Yankees figured to be pretty good and where the Yankees go, Yankees fans follow. Combine that with the Braves being in the thick of the Postseason race and you had a recipe for an incredible way to get the season back underway. Instead, the Braves came into this series after hosting the All-Star Break with trade rumors swirling around the squad. They continue to swirl, as the next few months figure to be pivotal to Atlanta’s future.
For now, it’s time to talk about this series against a Yankees team that was coming into this series having hit a blip in their season and a Braves team that is experiencing a season-long blip. Spoiler alert: The first game was fun! Look away afterwards!
Friday, July 18
Braves 7, Yankees 3
We didn’t get to see old friend Max Fried in action for this one, as he was dealing with some blister issues at the moment. Inexplicably, the Yankees came out of the break going for a bullpen game, as Ian Hamilton was the first pitcher on the mound for New York in this one. It ended up costing the Bronx Bombers dearly as the top of Atlanta’s order wasted no time doing damage against Hamilton.
Jurickson Profar led it off with a single and then the dynamic duo of Ronald Acuña Jr. and Matt Olson each hit doubles to put the Braves on the board. Ozzie Albies added on a sacrifice fly RBI and the Braves were off to a 3-0 start in this game. Shortly afterwards in the third inning when the Braves were in the field, Ronald Acuña Jr. unleashed That Throw.
Once the Braves returned to the plate in the same inning, the first three batters for Atlanta all reached base safely — culminating in a huge three-run shot from Ozzie Albies that broke the game open and made it 6-0 Braves. Acuña made it a five-tool night as he hit a triple and then made it home for another run after Drake Baldwin brought him in. That was all for the scoring for the Braves on the night, as Spencer strider’s strong performance kept the Yankees mostly quiet on the night.
New York didn’t make their half of the scoreboard light up until the seventh inning, which is when they put up all three runs they’d score for the night on Aaron Bummer’s tally. That was all for the Yankees on the night, as the Braves got their second half started on the right foot with a 7-3 win.
Saturday, July 19
Yankees 12, Braves 9
For a while, it sure seemed like the Braves were going to pick up where they left off on Friday night. They didn’t get going in the first inning but they were once again the first team to score as Michael Harris II’s solo homer put Atlanta on the board to start. They actually ended the fifth inning of this game up 7-2 on New York and again, it sure seemed like this was going to be a similar story to how Friday went.
Well, as y’all should know by now, the Braves and their fans aren’t allowed to be happy for an extended period of time here in 2025. Joey Wentz pitched for scoreless innings for Atlanta in this one, which was manna from heaven. Atlanta’s bullpen rejected the blessing almost immediately. This must be documented in bullet point form.
- Wander Suero gave up a two-run homer to Anthony Volpe in the fifth inning. 5-2, Braves
- Enyel De Los Santos was credited with giving up three earned runs and four total in the sixth inning. 7-6, Braves.
- Cody Bellinger hit a moonshot off of Pierce Johnson in the seventh. 8-7, Braves
- Dylan Lee hung a slider to Volpe, who crushed his second dinger of the night to tie it at 8-8 in the eighth.
- Raisel Iglesias enters the game in the ninth, gives up a leadoff double, intentionally walks Judge with one out, unintentionally walks Giancarlo Stanton to load the bases, nearly gets away with it after Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a laser directly to Nacho Alvarez Jr. but eventually hangs a slider of his own to Trent Grisham. The grand slam makes it 12-8.
The game eventually ended 12-9. This is now the third time this season where the Braves have lost a game despite being up by five runs at one point. That’s completely unacceptable but hey, this has been a season full of unacceptable performance from the Braves so what’s one more to throw on the pile?
Sunday, July 20
Yankees 4, Braves 2
In what local cynics could’ve seen coming a mile away considering how inconsistent Atlanta’s offense has been this year, Marcus Stroman had what was arguably the best start of his injury-affected season so far. While the Braves were busy getting stymied by Stroman, all the Yankees fans in attendance got what they paid to see as Aaron Judge hit a deep fly to the seats in right center to get New York started. Paul Goldschmidt plated Giancarlo Stanton, so Grant Holmes’ day on the mound got off to an extremely inauspicious start.
Stroman kept Atlanta off the board until the sixth inning, which is when Matt Olson seemingly forgot that he was in a regular season baseball game and not the Home Run Derby. Stroman served one up for Olson and the local product sent it soaring through the sky and bouncing off the roof of the Chop House in order to thwart the shutout bid.
That would be the only run Stroman gave up and the Yankees only gave up two on the night as they ended up locking down a 4-2 win. The second run fro Atlanta didn’t come until the ninth inning, which is when Ronald Acuña Jr. hit a deep fly to “Chattahoochee Falls” out in center field. The Tungsten Arm-esque effort from Acuña and Olson wasn’t enough to save the rest of the team on this day, as the Braves dropped yet another series.
This series essentially turned on its head the moment Joey Wentz left Saturday’s game following his precious gift of four shutout innings. Before he left, the Braves had won on Friday in impressive fashion and were in control on Saturday. The bullpen entered the game, got absolutely bopped by New York’s lineup and Atlanta’s offense subsequently gave up the ghost (with the All-Stars being a very loud exception).
If you’re this deep under .500 at this point in the season, it’s because you can’t get a good run of form consistently going and that has been the case for the Braves this season. They simply cannot get on an extended run of good form. The only positives appear to be that the lineup is starting to show some extended signs of life and they also received some big contributions at the plate from Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II this weekend as well. That’s something that’s been a true sight for sore eyes and hopefully this will be the start of a turnaround for those two.
However, this was yet another slog of a series in a season that continues to be relentlessly disappointing. We’ll see if the Braves can figure out a way to end their second-half opening homestand on a high note with a series win against the Giants. However, they’ll be looking for their first win of this season against the Giants after they got swept in San Francisco. It’s just another reminder of past pain as the Braves look to figure out what lies ahead of them in the future.