What is Going On With the Atlanta Braves?

Column: The Braves didn’t lose control of the NL East overnight. They gave it away.

For the better part of three months, the Atlanta Braves looked like they had done it again.

Despite injuries, inconsistent stretches and an imperfect roster, they found ways to win. They built a double-digit cushion in the National League East and looked poised to turn another division race into a formality.

Now, the questions are getting louder than the answers.

Atlanta enters the final days of June at 49-33, still atop the division, but the standings no longer tell the full story. The Braves have lost seven of their last 10 games, their once-commanding lead has shrunk to just three games over Philadelphia, while Miami sits six games back and Washington is only 7½ behind. A division that once looked finished has suddenly become one of baseball’s most intriguing races.

The recent stretch has been difficult to explain.

The Braves have dropped series to the San Francisco Giants twice in June, including Sunday’s 3-2 loss that capped another frustrating weekend at Oracle Park. They also lost series to the New York Mets, Chicago White Sox and San Diego Padres. Their lone signature series victory during the stretch came against the Milwaukee Brewers, but it has been overshadowed by a month filled with missed opportunities.

Perhaps nothing summarizes the slide better than the West Coast trip.

Atlanta managed just one victory in six games against the Padres and Giants, looking nothing like the balanced club that spent much of the first half establishing itself among baseball’s elite. The offense, once one of the National League’s deepest, has struggled to string together quality at-bats. Too often, a lineup featuring Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies has been held in check for long stretches, leaving little margin for error.

The pitching staff hasn’t received much help from the injury bug, either.

Atlanta has spent much of the season patching together innings as key arms have landed on the injured list. Chris Sale has continued to pitch like an ace, carrying a 2.14 ERA into Sunday’s start, but one dominant outing every five days isn’t enough when the rest of the staff is constantly searching for stability.

The most alarming part isn’t simply that the Braves are losing.

It’s who they’re losing to.

Series defeats against contenders happen over a 162-game season. But dropping series to a struggling White Sox club, repeatedly failing to capitalize against the Giants and watching the offense disappear during critical stretches has transformed what once looked like a comfortable march toward October into a genuine pennant race.

Meanwhile, the Phillies deserve credit for hanging around. They never allowed Atlanta’s early lead to become psychologically insurmountable. The Braves, however, deserve equal responsibility for allowing that door to reopen.

The encouraging news is that Atlanta still controls its own destiny. A plus-88 run differential suggests this remains one of the National League’s strongest teams, and few clubs can match the Braves’ star power when they’re healthy and producing.

But the clock is ticking.

This franchise has built its reputation on catching fire during the second half. Instead, it has spent June moving in reverse.

Championship-caliber teams inevitably endure rough stretches. The difference is that they eventually stop the bleeding.

For the Braves, that moment needs to arrive soon. Otherwise, what once looked like another routine NL East title could become one of baseball’s biggest missed opportunities.

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