Atlanta's 10.5-Game Lead Vanished and The League Is Watching Their Offensive Meltdown
Alright, Seattle, pull up a chair because we need to talk about what's going down in MLB right now. You know how it is when your team hits a wall, right? Well, the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals are basically staring at a brick wall, covered in their own batting slumps. These two clubs, both sitting at a rough 3-7 over their last ten games, are probably ready to burn June off the calendar and never look back. It’s early season vibes with mid-season pressure, and it’s getting wild.
Their Bats Are Frozen Solid and Nobody Has a Torch
Let's start with Atlanta, because their situation is truly wild. What happened to that massive 10.5-game cushion they had for the top spot in the National League East on May 22? Poof! It's shrunk to a terrifying three-game lead over the Phillies. The Braves have limped to a 9-13 record in June, including a brutal 4-12 skid where they've been shut out twice and scored three or fewer runs a whopping ten times. That's not a slump, that's an offensive desert!
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You want names? Austin Riley, for one. This dude went 4-for-21 on their recent six-game road trip. His average has tanked to .209, and he hasn't even sniffed a home run since May 20. Ouch. Then there's Ha-Seong Kim, who's stuck in an 0-for-24 nightmare, now batting a miserable .068. Drake Baldwin popped a homer in his first at-bat back from the injured list, but since then, he’s a chilling 2-for-43, watching his average drop from .303 to .255. Atlanta manager Walt Weiss summed it up, saying, "Our sport is different than every other sport. We play virtually every day for seven months, so you've got to get past all that stuff. You've got to keep your head down and keep doing the work. These guys are doing the work, they're doing all that stuff. We've just got to fight through it." Sounds like a man trying to stay positive.
Not to be outdone in the hitting struggles department, the Cardinals are right there with them. St. Louis is 12-12 in June, which looks better than Atlanta, but they managed a pathetic three runs in their entire weekend series against Miami. Oliver Marmol, the Cardinals manager, knows the drill: "You look at the games, we're successful, we come up with that key hit, that big hit and kind of keep it rolling. We haven't been able to do that recently and that's a big part of how we've gotten to this point." Ivan Herrera and Alec Burleson both saw their on-base streaks end recently, a real gut punch even after their 2-1 win snapped a four-game skid. On the bright side for St. Louis, rookie second baseman JJ Wetherholt has picked up back-to-back multi-hit games, giving him 23 on the season. That’s a glimmer of hope, at least.
Pitching Trying to Hold the Line
On the mound, Atlanta has found some stability in veteran Martin Perez. With Spencer Strider out for the long haul, Perez has been a rock for the Braves. Since rejoining the rotation in mid-May, he's 4-2. His four-game winning streak did end last Wednesday when he gave up three runs in his shortest start of the season, a quick four innings. But still, a 6-4 record with a 3.00 ERA is solid.
For the Cardinals, Matthew Liberatore has been having a tough June. He's 0-2 with a painful 10.34 ERA this month. Arizona absolutely shelled him for six runs in just 5 1/3 innings last Wednesday. He'll be on the bump for the opener, facing Perez. This is the first time these two teams have met this season, but Atlanta took the series 4-2 back in 2025. You know both clubs are hungry to change their fortunes. When they face off on Tuesday, it's not just a game, it's a battle to get their seasons back on track. Let's see who shows up ready to play!
This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.