At least it’s over?
Usually with these series recaps, I try to go a bit in depth with each game in order to give a thorough and complete summary of what happened during the previous few days. With this season, the best thing I can say about it is that it’s over. For four games, the Atlanta Braves essentially played the most “Braves in California” series that you’ll see and honestly it has me grateful that they’re getting this West Coast swing out of the way to start the season.
Alright, let’s get this thing over with, y’all.
Thursday, March 27
Padres 7, Braves 4
Ah, remember the optimism of Opening Day? It feels like this was two weeks ago instead of just a few days ago. For the Braves, it sure seemed like for seven innings that this had all the makings of turning into a close-but-exciting victory for Atlanta to start the season. Thanks to homers from Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley, the Braves had a 4-3 lead going into the bottom of the seventh.
With that being said, it could’ve been more as the Braves had a couple of fly balls that ended up landing in gloves instead of flying over the fence. It came back to bite them as Héctor Neris and Aaron Bummer combined to get bopped by the Padres lineup. Instead of holding onto a one-run lead, the Padres had taken complete control of the game and ended up walking away with the win.
Friday, March 28
Padres 4, Braves 3
This was another close game where it sure seemed like Atlanta was at least game to compete against their opponent on the mound. The Braves were able to put up three runs against Dylan Cease, with the third run coming from a home run from Jarred Kelenic. Again, while this wasn’t a juggernaut-like performance, the offense still looked somewhat normal. This would be the last time this would happen during this series.
Reynaldo López simply wasn’t able to turn the switch on, himself, as he ended up having to scratch and claw to get through five innings while the Padres tagged him for nine hits and three runs. The game was once again tied heading into the late portion of the game and once again, the Padres were the one to deliver the decisive blow as Jake Cronenworth got revenge on his pal Jurickson Profar by hitting a go-ahead solo shot that brought us to the 4-3 final score.
Saturday, March 29
Padres 1, Braves 0
This is when the Braves transformed into unserious competitors in this series. The offense was unable to muster up much of anything against Randy Vásquez, as it seemed like any time they got a baserunner, it was immediately wiped out in a double play. Fortunately, Spencer Schwellenbach showed up to play and pitched six shutout innings.
Unfortunately, the Padres were able to scrape a run past Aaron Bummer after he gave up a Typical Bummer Hit on a ball put in play by Jake Cronenworth that caromed off of his foot and went into the dugout for a ground rule double. Yuli Gurriel brought him home with an RBI single and that was the difference in the game as Atlanta’s offense got blanked. Incredible.
Sunday, March 30
Padres 5, Braves 0
Let’s look at the positives: AJ Smith-Shawver certainly wasn’t dominant but he certainly showed flashes of being the guy that the Braves are going to need him to be going forward.
AJ Smith-Shawver got 10 misses on 14 swings against his splitter. That seems good.
— Mike Petriello (@mikepetriello.bsky.social) 2025-03-31T01:25:50.220Z
Outside of that, well, the Braves picked up one hit, sent the minimum number of batters to the plate and got shut out for the second game in a row. The one hit came in the third inning from Orlando Arcia. The only word that comes to mind for me is “dreadful.”
While there were some positives to take home, this was a rough series to watch from start to finish. While the Typical Braves West Coast Luck did play a factor, it’s hard to say that the Padres weren’t deserving of picking up the sweep in this series. They were simply the better team over the course of these four games and now the Braves have no choice but to figure it out in order to get back on track. They’ll also have to do it against the Los Angeles Dodgers, so there’s that.
I will leave y’all with a positive. The Braves are starting this season 0-4 for the first time since 2021. We all know how 2021 ended. Maybe that’ll be an omen for this season ending on a high note. For now, it’s time to just forget all about this series and move on to the next.
the last time the Braves started a season 0-4, they won a World Series later that fall#TweetthePositives
— Stephen (@b_outliers) March 30, 2025