Raisel Iglesias’ 2025 season with the Atlanta Braves got off to a very rocky start. In what is his 11th big league season, Iglesias has surrendered more home runs than he did all of last season. He entered last nights save situation against the Dodgers with a 5.25 ERA and 6.97 FIP for the 2025 season which is not what you want to see from your closer.
It had been just 12 innings of work, but the results have been particularly concerning because of all the hard contact Iglesias has surrendered. On top of that Iglesias’ strikeout rate isn’t what it once was. At 35 years-old, there are legitimate worries of decline for Iglesias.
Earlier this season, he blew a save in Los Angeles before giving up a walk-off homer to Shohei Ohtani. Last night against those very same Dodgers, fans at Truist Park held their collective breath that tonight’s save situation wouldn’t have the same fate. Iglesias made it interesting, but he eventually got the job done and may have turned his season around in the process.
Raisel Iglesias’s 3Ks in the 9th…and Sword. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/PXzfR4cisg
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 5, 2025
Iglesias may have turned his and the Braves season around last night
It was a one-run game when Raisel entered the ninth inning looking to end the Braves three game skid. The baseball gods seemed to be laughing at Braves fans when the inning begun with a 77 mph infield single off of Ozzie Albies’ glove. Pinch runner Hyeseong Kim immediately stole second base to get in scoring position before Iglesias recorded an out.
What ensued next were some of the best executed pitches of the season for Raisel. He begun his bounceback by striking out catcher Will Smith on a sinker running in on him. Unfortunately, Kim moved up to third on the dropped third strike. Next up was Miguel Rojas, who had already homered earlier in the game. Iggy got Rojas on three beautifully located changeups.
Austin Barnes stepped up with Ohtani lurking in the on-deck circle. With the game-tying run 90 feet away Iggy fired three straight fastball to get ahead in the count before polishing off the save with a filthy slider off the plate that Barnes chased.
It was a moment that could be looked back on as a turning point in both Atlanta’s and Iglesias’ season. The rotation and offense have mostly rebounded from their rough start to the season. If Iglesias and bullpen can follow suit, the Braves may be humming before we know it. Buckling down in a game they were in control of from the first inning against the powerhouse Dodgers is no small feat for the Braves. Hopefully, it’s a win that leads to some big time momentum for both Raisel Iglesias and the Atlanta Braves.
