Early this season, the Braves were flying high, holding the best record in baseball and making many fans forget about last season’s struggles.
Injuries and inconsistency led to a subpar season, and they missed the playoffs for the first time in eight years.
With a hot start this season, the Braves went 22-10 through April and 40-20 through May, suggesting things were turning around. That included a 45-21 mark that tied the franchise record for the best record in the first 66 games.
But a subpar 9-14 June record resurfaced the same concerns — including injuries to star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., along with eight pitchers.
Although the Braves have hit a rough patch, their fans are hopeful the All-Star break will give their team an opportunity to recover and get back on track, after losing 19 of their last 30 games.
They’re still in first place, but the lead has shrunk to just two games over the rival Phillies and four over the Marlins.
“It’s a little bit nerve-wracking, especially when you got the Phillies who seem to always have our number when it matters most,” Braves fan Tyler Bowden, 21, of Calhoun said. “Hopefully, we get Acuña back. He just seems like he just has the injury curse right now.”
Acuña, who is on the injured list and dealing with a hamstring issue, has played in just 53 games, and the offense has struggled without his bat. Some of the downturn has coincided with his absence, with his last game being on June 9.
The All-Star break is giving him time to continue his recovery, and he’s begun rehab assignments with the Florida Complex League Braves this week.
Getting Acuña back soon could be the boost the Braves need.
Credit: AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser
Credit: AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser
“I need him to find a way to stay healthy so he can help the team out when we need him the most,” Braves fan Lee Burton-Myers, 44, of Stockbridge said. “The pitching is letting them down and I’m glad the bats have picked up for them.”
After a rough start, the Phillies flipped the script, going 18-10 in May and 18-9 in June, turning a double-digit deficit in the standings into a close race heading down the stretch.
Losing that lead — to Philadelphia, especially — would be tough for Braves fans to process.
“The villain Bryce Harper … every time he plays us, especially when it matters most, he just excels,” Bowden said.
In his career against the Braves, Harper is hitting .262 with 47 home runs, 192 hits, 114 RBIs and 138 runs scored across 206 games.
For Braves fans like Kendall Colleps, the tightening race is making things more interesting than many thought early in the season.
“I try to look at it every night and I do get scared … maybe we’re not going to be first,” Colleps, 22, said.
The silver lining for the Braves? Time.
With this week’s All-Star break, the Braves don’t play again until Friday, when they face the Rangers in a three-game series at Truist Park. And with Acuña’s return approaching and some more help with the pitching staff, their injury look could turn the other way.
“I think our biggest struggle sometimes is confidence … just that little break to kind of revamp, I think will be good for them,” Colleps said.
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