It’s only July, but there’s a sense of urgency for the Braves’ three-game set against the Athletics starting Tuesday night. As of this writing, the Braves are 13.5 games behind division leader Philadelphia and nine games back in the wild card, with a record of 39–50. Time is not on the Braves’ side if they hope to create the late-season magic fans have experienced in recent years.

The Braves will send out 20-year-old rookie Didier Fuentes, who will be looking to lower his 9.00 ERA and will face off against the Athletics’ Jeffrey Springs Tuesday night. Wednesday night, Bryce Elder will face off against Mitch Spence.

On Thursday, Spencer Strider will take the mound against JP Sears of the Athletics. Injuries have decimated the Braves’ rotation all season long, and they will need good outings from Fuentes and Elder to have any realistic chance of winning this series.

The other elephant in the room is the feast-or-famine Braves offense. Over the last few years, the Braves have powered their offense with the long ball. This year’s key difference is that it seems to be an all-or-nothing approach, as manufacturing runs have been virtually nonexistent.

The Braves’ offense currently ranks 21st in batting average, 24th in runs per game, and 22nd in strikeouts per game. With a depleted pitching staff taking the mound nightly, the offense will need to improve in these categories to support the pitchers and give the team a chance to win some games.

Game 1: ATL/Fuentes (9.00 ERA) vs ATH/Springs (4.07 ERA)

The Athletics have not faced Didier Fuentes before. Sean Murphy has faced off with Jeffrey Springs the most and has a .400 average against him.

Game 2: ATL/Elder (5.92 ERA) vs ATH/Spence (4.06 ERA)

The Braves have not faced Mitch Spence before. The only Athletic who has faced Bryce Elder is Shea Langeliers, who carries a .333 average against the Braves righty.

Game 3: ATL/Strider (3.93 ERA) vs ATH/Sears (4.76 ERA)

Multiple Braves have faced off against JP Sears, with the highest averages being Jurickson Profar‘s .500, while Matt Olson and Michael Harris are hitting .400 against the Athletics pitcher. Shea Langeliers is the only Athletic player to face off against Spencer Strider and does not have a hit against the righty.

The Athletics have a worse record than the Braves, sitting at 37–55, so the Braves, at the very least, will need to win this series and, at best, sweep the Athletics. If the Braves can put together 10 straight wins, it could spark a comeback that rejuvenates Braves Country. If the status quo remains the same, it will be interesting to see what the team does at the trade deadline. There is still time for the 2025 Atlanta Braves to turn their season around, but time is running short.

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