Braves return home looking for first win of 2025

• In 2024, they didn't record their seventh loss until their 25th game (21st in 2023).

Yes, but: Including the Braves' quiet exit from the postseason last year, that's now nine consecutive losses.

Between the lines: It didn't help that Atlanta's first two series of the year were on the road against the team that eliminated them in the Wild Card round before taking on the defending World Series champions.

• It also doesn't help that the Braves are without some key players due to injury, like former MVP Ronald Acuña Jr., ace pitcher Spencer Strider and starting catcher Sean Murphy.
• And to add insult to injury, just consult Murphy's Law (not Sean) as prized offseason acquisition Jurickson Profar has been suspended for 80 games for performance-enhancing drug violations. He played in just four games. (Profar said he would never knowingly cheat.)

The silver lining: It can only go up from here. Atlanta finally gets to play in front of its home fans at Truist Park on Friday where they went 46-35 last season.

• And the baseball season is long enough that the saying "it doesn't matter how you start, it's how you finish" actually has merit.

• Case in point: In 2023, the Tampa Bay Rays started 13-0 and eventually 20-3, but they didn't even win their division and lost 2-0 in the Wild Card round.

What we're watching: The Braves are in Cobb County for back-to-back homestands against the Florida Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies.

• First pitch against the Marlins is 7:15pm Friday before continuing through the weekend.

The bottom line: Baseball is a marathon, not a sprint (enter another cliche). With 155 games left, win these next six, and it's like this 0-for-start didn't happen.