Braves Battle Back to .500, Spark Hope with Win and Acuña’s Return on Horizon

The Atlanta Braves quietly hit an important milestone Tuesday night, clawing their way back to a .500 record with a 5–2 victory over the Washington Nationals.

While the achievement might seem small at a glance, it signals a significant turnaround. After beginning the season with a brutal 0–7 skid, Atlanta now sits at 21–21. According to The Athletic’s David O’Brien, they are just the fifth team in MLB history to recover from such a start—and did so in only 42 games, the second-fastest in league history.

Manager Brian Snitker kept celebrations measured, treating the moment more like a fresh start than a triumph. The win was boosted by a breakout performance from rookie catcher Drake Baldwin, who notched three hits, including a two-run homer that helped power the team to victory.

The Braves got contributions across the board. Ozzie Albies snapped out of a prolonged 0-for-28 slump with an RBI single, and rookie Spencer Schwellenbach provided stability with seven strong innings on the mound. The win also snapped a quirky stretch of seven straight games alternating between one-run wins and losses—finally injecting some consistency into a rocky early season.

Meanwhile, optimism grew further south in Florida, where Ronald Acuña Jr. launched a home run in his first rehab game since tearing his ACL last May. Facing a fellow Venezuelan in rookie ball, Acuña looked sharp and confident. Now set to move up to Triple-A Gwinnett, his return to the big leagues may be just around the corner.

Snitker offered a frank take on where his club stands in mid-May: “Rough start, no doubt. But I’m proud of how we’ve stuck together. Yeah, .500 is nice, but it’s more about how we’re playing—we’re getting more consistent.” He added that the team still hasn’t reached its full potential, and that could be a good thing: “I think our best baseball is still in front of us.”

Since that winless opening week, the Braves have gone 21–14, the second-best stretch in the National League during that time. Their offense is still finding rhythm, but the emergence of Baldwin adds a promising spark to a veteran-heavy lineup. Acuña’s looming return could supercharge their momentum and shift the dynamic at the top of the order.

No MLB team has ever reached the playoffs after starting 0–7—but the Braves are positioned to chase that bit of history. They remain a work in progress, but Tuesday’s win felt like a turning point, marking a move from early-season instability to something far more promising.

The path ahead is still full of challenges, but as the team regains confidence and Acuña inches closer to rejoining the roster, Atlanta may have found the fuel it needs. Now comes the real test—keeping the momentum going.