Next three weeks could determine the Atlanta Braves season

Acuña’s return quite literally could not have come at a better time. The vibes couldn’t be much lower, as the Braves dropped two straight to the Washington Nationals and haven’t won a game all week, bringing their record back below .500.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Phillies are winners of seven straight and have now opened up a 7.5-game lead on the Braves. Even with over two months left to play, that’s a ton of ground to make up, and the road is not about to get any easier for Atlanta.

Seven of the Braves next eight series are against teams with postseason aspirations. Atlanta hopes to get revenge on San Diego this weekend, and then they travel to Philadelphia for a pivotal three game set. Things could start to get out of hand if they don’t take care of business over the next week. Then, the Braves play the Red Sox, Giants, Diamondbacks, and Brewers before finally catching a little bit of a breather with the lowly Rockies, which is then followed by Atlanta’s first series of the season with the New York Mets.

That’s about as difficult of a three-plus week stretch as anybody could have drawn up. This is a Braves team that deserves to be under .500 at this point. The offense has been middling at best, and the pitching staff from top to bottom has been far too inconsistent. One man — even as great as Ronald Acuña Jr. is — will not change all of that. The other 25 guys must start doing their part, or the 2025 campaign could be lost before the All-Star break even arrives in Atlanta.