The Atlanta Braves finally got the monkey off their back Friday night, ending their seven-game losing streak in emphatic fashion with a 10-0 rout over the Miami Marlins in their home opener at Truist Park.
Behind a masterful performance by rookie right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach and a power surge from Marcell Ozuna and Matt Olson, the Braves notched their long-awaited first win of the 2025 season, becoming the last team in Major League Baseball to reach the win column.
Schwellenbach (1-0) was electric, carrying a perfect game into the fifth inning and finishing with a career-best 10 strikeouts over eight scoreless frames. He allowed just two hits, issued no walks, and threw 73 of his 99 pitches for strikes in his most dominant outing yet. He didn’t allow a baserunner until Liam Hicks dropped a bloop single into left field with two outs in the fifth inning.
“It was just about trusting the game plan and pounding the zone,” Schwellenbach said postgame. “The defense behind me made it easy to just focus on executing pitch after pitch.”
The Braves’ bats came alive to support their young hurler. Atlanta jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third inning against Marlins right-hander Max Meyer (0-1). Michael Harris II, who finished with three hits, scored on a two-run double by Ozuna, who later crossed the plate on Olson’s RBI single.
In total, the Braves pounded out 16 hits to the Marlins four, finally putting together the offensive display fans have been waiting for.
The fireworks came in the seventh inning when Ozuna and Olson launched back-to-back home runs off reliever George Soriano. Ozuna’s homer — initially in doubt — was confirmed via replay after it deflected off center fielder Dane Myers’s glove and bounced off the top of the wall before being caught by left fielder Griffin Conine. Moments later, Olson sent a 434-foot missile into the seats in right field for his first homer of the year.
Ozuna finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs, while Olson added two hits and three RBIs of his own. The Braves’ 0-7 start was their worst since 2016, when they opened 0-9. No team has ever made the postseason following an 0-7 start, but Friday night’s performance showed the kind of potential Atlanta still possesses.
Schwellenbach threw only 26 balls in eight innings of work, completing the longest outing of his young career with pinpoint efficiency.
Atlanta will look to build off the momentum Saturday night when right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver (0-1) takes the mound against Miami’s Cal Quantrill (0-1). For now, though, the Braves are in the win column — and they did it in style.
