The excitement of Opening Day was subdued a bit as the Atlanta Braves lost to the Padres 7-4. Things started off well as the offense drove Michael King from the game after just 2.2 innings pitched. Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley each homered but it wasn’t enough to solidify a win.

Chris Sale struggled to find consistency but still turned in a nice performance, tossing five innings with three runs, six hits, one walk, and seven strikeouts. The bullpen is a weak spot for the Braves right now and that was on full display on Thursday.

Dylan Lee and Grant Holmes are the exceptions, however. Lee continues to be a bright spot and an underrated MLB reliever. Holmes coming in was odd, especially considering he was supposed to be the fifth starter in the rotation. However, he only pitched one inning so it shouldn’t mess anything up there if the Braves treat the appearance as a side session.

Braves inability to replace Joe Jimenez on full display in Opening Day loss to Padres

Disaster struck in the seventh inning as Hector Neris and Aaron Bummer failed to keep the Padres offense at bay. Losing Joe Jimenez this offseason to injury wasn’t ideal for the Braves and today’s lackluster performance in the late-innings proved how costly it was.

Jimenez has been an incredible eighth-inning option for the Braves. He accounted for almost 70 innings last season with a 2.62 ERA, 23 walks, and 82 strikeouts. The only real negative was his walk rate of 8.3%. That is an incredibly tough asset to lose for an entire season.

Neris hasn’t been that good in recent years and he failed to produce a single out on Thursday while allowing three runs in his Braves debut. He just didn’t look very good and it doesn’t help that he only has a two-pitch mix. He is also a homer-prone pitcher and featured an 8.3 HR/9 rate in 2024.

Bummer is a decent arm but even he struggled and some of the credit should lie with the talented Padres lineup. They have great plate approaches and are a tough team to navigate. Bummer allowed one run, but was able to get the team out of the inning down “just” three runs.

Atlanta’s offense did their best to mount a comeback but fell short. They ended the day 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left 10 on base. That’s not a recipe for success at all.

At the end of the day, it’s just one game but it’s hard to ignore the gaping hole left without defined roles for the bullpen. Brian Snitker and his staff are going to have to quickly figure this thing out or it’s going to be a long season. Maybe next time Atlanta will lean on another arm in that sort of spot like Daysbel Hernandez who fans were already clamoring for. They are going to have to figure out something and soon.

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