The Atlanta Braves are riding the razor’s edge between “What just happened?” and “We’re still good, right?” Let’s talk about Monday’s much-needed 8-4 thumping of the Blue Jays.
That win wasn’t just a W in the standings — it was a statement, a long-overdue reminder to the league that this Braves team still has teeth despite all the noise and early-season misery.
The Turnaround, or at Least the First Step
You start a season 0-7, and suddenly, even your fans start looking at you sideways. But since then, Atlanta’s gone 5-4. Not amazing, but it’s no longer a freefall. That win against Toronto felt like exhaling after holding your breath for three weeks.
The bats came alive, the pitching held steady, and for the first time in 2025, the Braves looked like a team that remembered how to win. Maybe — just maybe — they’re about to catch their stride.
Let’s Not Pretend All Is Well in Atlanta
This team is still last in the NL East. Chris Sale has been more trick than treat, Reynaldo López is on the shelf, and the offense is as unpredictable as April weather.
A win over the Blue Jays is great, but in a 162-game grind, isolated victories don’t change narratives — trends do. And right now, the Braves are still looking for one that doesn’t involve injury updates and bullpen roulette.
A Reason to Breathe (Slightly) Easier
Here comes CBS Sports with the ever-popular “Panic Meter,” and bless their optimistic hearts, they gave the Braves a 2 out of 5. It’s not ideal, but hey, it’s not the fire alarm either.
Matt Snyder made a compelling point: the Braves started the year on a brutal west coast trip, missing key pieces. And really, how long can their bad luck last? Baseball is a game of averages, and the Braves have too much talent for this slump to be sustainable.
Braves Have Help On the Way
Ronald Acuña Jr.’s looming return is the kind of injection this lineup desperately needs. Marcell Ozuna’s status is a question mark, but the emergence of Spencer Schwellenbach has been a quiet gift in a noisy mess. And with Spencer Strider returning this week, the rotation may finally start looking like a strength instead of a patch job.
So, Are the Braves Good?
Here’s the deal: if just a couple of underperforming stars wake up — if Austin Riley stays hot, if Albies strings some hits, if the bullpen doesn’t implode every third day — this team’s going to rise in the standings fast. They’re too experienced, too deep, and too battle-tested to stay in the basement for long.
But let’s not sugarcoat it — 5-11 is a hole, and the Braves have to climb. Fast. Monday night was a good first foothold. Now comes the hard part: proving it wasn’t a fluke.
