Shohei Ohtani hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 9th to keep the Dodgers undefeated and send the Braves to an 0-7 start. We are over a week into the season and Atlanta is yet to win a single game. Perhaps Atlanta's first warning sign that the first weeks of their season wasn't going to go as planned was an early injury to Sean Murphy. It was an eerie start, with fans being given flashbacks to an injury-plagued 2024 season.
Things would only go downhill from there with Atlanta's top postseason addition (Jurickson Profar) getting suspended for 80 games. Before this news had any time to settle, fans were thrown yet another punch with the news that starter Reynaldo Lopez would miss time with the team, not yet having any timetable of a possible return. All of this set the stage for a fitting finale for Atlanta's first road trip of the season.
Atlanta's Inability to Win Has Become Comically Painful as Braves Fans Continue to Reel
It seemed that Wednesday night's finale against the Dodgers was finally Atlanta's moment to turn the tide of their season. Manager Brian Snitker decided to bench Orlando Arcia, Michael Harris, and Jarred Kelenic. This appeared to be both due to the Dodgers starting a lefty and in hopes the odd lineup would spark life into Atlanta.
Early on, this appeared to work with the Braves jumping out to a 5-0 lead after two innings. Nick Allen, Matt Olson, and Marcell Ozuna all worked pivotal at bats that would give Atlanta the early lead. This wouldn't last long, however, with starter Bryce Elder not lasting past the 4th inning and the Atlanta bullpen dancing in and out of trouble.
With this in mind, it seems fitting that it was closer Raisel Iglesias who would blow the game and allow a walk-off homer to Ohtani. The one arm Atlanta was supposed to be able to count on robbing the team of their first victory is painfully fitting.
Atlanta will now return home to host the Marlins and Phillies as the team attempts to dig themselves out of an incredibly deep hole. It is hard to believe a roster with this level of talent and expectations moving into the year has fallen so incredibly flat. Yes, the Dodgers and Padres are stiff competition, deserving of much respect.
However, the Braves were supposed to be one of a handful of teams capable of matching up with the contenders in the west. What exactly is going to happen for Atlanta from here remains in question as every possible thing that could go wrong continues to fall in Atlanta's way.