Braves’ Nightmare Start: MLB’s Last Winless Team at 0-7

The Atlanta Braves are the last winless team remaining.

A disastrous start to the year continued Wednesday when the Braves fell to 0-7 on the young season after being walked off by reigning MVP Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Braves had their best offensive showing thus far, plating five runs in the first two innings versus the defending champions. It was all Dodgers from then on. LA scored the last six runs of the game, including a solo homer off of Ohtani’s bat in the bottom of the ninth.

That’s two sweeps now for the Braves. Before losing three in a row to the Dodgers, the Braves lost all four games to the Padres in their opening series. It’s the worst start to a season for the Braves since 2016 when they began the year 0-9.

Nothing has gone right for this team. Following the Padres series, news of Jurickson Profar’s 80-game suspension surfaced. Profar was Atlanta’s big offseason acquisition, and was the team’s leadoff hitter in all four games he played.

It’s not hard to see why the Braves have struggled out of the gates. The five runs they scored in Wednesday’s meltdown equaled their total from the five previous games combined. Despite the star-studded lineup, they’ve struggled mightily at the plate. Atlanta ranks dead-last in batting average (.151) and OPS (.485). They have 4 HR as a team and no player has hit more than one.

Only two players on the roster are batting over .200 — Nick Allen and Eli White. Former All-Stars Marcell Ozuna (.188 AVG), Ozzie Albies (.185), Matt Olson (.182), Orlando Arcia (.154), and Austin Riley (.111) have struggled. 2022 NL Rookie of the Year Michael Harris II (.160) is getting benched against lefties. Rookie catcher Drake Baldwin is 1-for-18 (.056) to begin his career.

The staff hasn’t been any better. Atlanta ranks 26th in team ERA (5.11) and have gotten just one quality start out of their rotation.

Just seven games into the season, the Braves face an uphill battle. No team has ever made the playoffs after starting 0-7. Of course, there are more playoff spots available with the expanded Wild Card, but the Braves will still need to make history if they want back into the playoff picture.

The schedule will loosen up. They won’t play teams as stacked as the Padres and Dodgers every week. It already gets a bit easier this weekend with the Marlins coming to Atlanta for the Braves’ home opener. Perhaps some time at Truist Park is all the Braves need to spark an offensive surge.

Help is on the way as well. Starting catcher Sean Murphy began his rehab assignment recently and should return shortly. Ace starter Spencer Strider is set to make his second rehab start on Saturday. Ronald Acuna Jr. is projected to return sometime next month.

Still, they can’t afford to fall too far behind in the standings. The NL West is off to a scorching start, and could send three (maybe, four?) teams to the playoffs this year. The Braves already have to contend with the Phillies and Mets in their own division.

It’s not time to panic just yet, but the Braves are on a historically bad pace to begin the year. If they continue to struggle over the next couple of weeks, it could trigger mass changes. World Series winning manager Brian Snitker could quickly find himself on the hot seat if things don’t turn around quickly.