The Braves' slide continues with a 2-1 loss to the Orioles on July 7, 2025, completing a sweep. Jackson Holliday's HR and a Schwellenbach injury deepen the crisis.
StatPro MLB Beat Reporter
There's no sugarcoating it: the Atlanta Braves are in a freefall. A dismal 2-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday capped a demoralizing three-game sweep, dropping the team to a season-worst 39-50 record. As the team limps into a much-needed off day, the questions surrounding this club are only getting louder while the answers remain painfully out of reach.
The Braves have fallen to 39-50, a season-low 11 games under .500, and have now lost four straight games.
The series finale against the Orioles was a microcosm of the Braves' recent struggles. Jackson Holliday's two-run homer off Grant Holmes in the third was all Baltimore needed. Meanwhile, the Atlanta offense was once again stifled, this time by Trevor Rogers, a pitcher who entered the day 0-for-9 in his career against the Braves. A ninth-inning solo shot from Sean Murphy was the only sign of life, but it was too little, too late. With Ronald Acuña Jr., Michael Harris II, and Marcell Ozuna resting, the lineup lacked the firepower to mount a comeback, cementing the team's fourth consecutive loss.
The bad news wasn't confined to the field. The Braves' injury-ravaged pitching staff took another devastating hit with the announcement that rookie Spencer Schwellenbach has a fractured right elbow and will head to the 60-day IL. He joins a crowded infirmary that includes Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, AJ Smith-Shawver, and Reynaldo López. In a corresponding move, the club optioned Dylan Dodd and selected the contract of familiar face Jesse Chavez, once again calling on the 41-year-old veteran to patch the seemingly endless holes in the pitching staff.
While injuries have decimated the rotation, the offense has provided little support. The Braves' lineup, once the most feared in baseball, has gone cold. Key contributors like Matt Olson and Michael Harris II are performing well below their career norms, and the consistency just isn't there. Sean Murphy has been a bright spot since his return from the IL, but one player can't carry the load. The lack of run production is putting immense pressure on a patchwork pitching staff, creating a cycle of losing that has been difficult to break.
The front office continues to churn the roster in search of a spark. The brief and disappointing Alex Verdugo experiment officially ended with his release on Saturday. In a more forward-looking move, Atlanta acquired right-handed reliever Hunter Stratton from the Pittsburgh Pirates for a prospect and cash. These moves highlight the team's desperation to find any combination that works as they try to salvage a season that is quickly spiraling out of control.
After a day off to regroup, the Braves head west for a series against the Oakland A's, sending rookie Didier Fuentes to the mound on Tuesday. It's a daunting task for a young pitcher to be a stopper, but that's where Atlanta is right now. With the season slipping away, every game feels like a last stand. The Braves are desperate for a spark, and they need to find one on this road trip before the hole gets any deeper.
