Role reversal: The curious case of the overachieving Marlins and abysmal Braves

If the Braves and the Marlins have anything in common right now, it’s the fact that they both started off the regular season making history.

The Marlins began 2025 with their very first Opening Day walk-off win. Then, they followed it up with two more walk-off wins in the first four games of the season.

The Braves will come into the series on Friday with an historic 0-7 record.

In the bottom of the eighth with two outs against the Dodgers on Wednesday night, you could feel the anxiety pouring off the Braves. Joe Davis of SportsNet LA just about summed it up when he remarked on the duality of the Dodgers-Braves matchup:

“The Braves are having to do mental gymnastics just to play this game right now, whereas the Dodgers expect to. It’s the difference of, 'Oh, we’ve seen this movie before' and 'Oh! We’ve seen this one before!'

An inning later Shohei Ohtani would hit the second walk-off home run of his career, and the Braves had to do the proverbial walk of shame off the field and back to Atlanta.

In the first week of the 2025 season, the travesties continue to mount for the Braves both on and off the field. What seems to be befalling the Braves is, to understate it, unexpected. One could argue the "strength of schedule" point—opening their year with consecutive road series against the ultra-talented Padres and Dodgers—or highlight that they headed into the season already managing pitching rotation issues, but no matter how you hash it, this has the makings of a grade A crisis in The Battery.

There’s a whiff of desperation that’s creeping down from the south. Starting Friday at 0-7, the Braves are looking at overcoming an obscure but startling stat: no team has ever made the playoffs after starting the season 0-7.

Yikes.

So, this is the opponent the Marlins are preparing to meet in Atlanta for the Braves' home opener Friday.

The Marlins are, and always have been, perennially expected to slot into the bottom third of the majors starting from Opening Day all the way through Game 162. That was applicable again here in 2025 with this rebuilding club assembling the league's youngest and least-experienced roster.

In a game where timing is everything, and adjustments can make or break the season, how can the Marlins continue to overachieve?

By continuing to make adjustments. Breaking down Kyle Stowers' walk-off hit on Opening Day, that’s exactly what he did. He recognized how Pirates closer Bednar was pitching him and made it work for him. First a high fastball for a strike. Stowers then whiffed on a 97 mph fastball right down the middle.

In an 0-2 count, two on with nobody out, Bednar opted to challenge him, and Stowers walked it off with a base hit down the line. Stowers recognized Bednar’s game plan and contradicted the scouting reports that claim he can be “beaten at the letters”—apparently he can’t hit a high fastball. He just did.

Once you make adjustments, then you build on the confidence that comes from experience. Looking ahead to the series against the Braves, it should be a good litmus test for the Marlins. The Braves will have a day of travel to either get inside their own heads, gear up for a fresh start, or continue to struggle to get up off the mat. No matter what iteration of the Braves the Marlins see in this series there should be ample opportunities with every play and at-bat to tinker with each player’s approach as much as with any strategizing following any in-game result.

One of the most obvious strengths the Marlins have already this season is in the bullpen. Yes, Pete Alonso’s home run off Calvin Faucher made quite a splash, but that was one pitch. The reliever made a relevant point following Wednesday's game (h/t Christina De Nicola): “I think overall we’re throwing the ball well when our names are called.”

Coming into Friday, the Marlins bullpen has the third-lowest opposing BA at .160, and the fourth-lowest ERA in the National League (2.22). That’s throwing the ball very well. Knowing you have bullpen strength already established a week into the season is another piece of the confidence puzzle, particularly for a team that has to lean on its 'pen to cover a lot of innings.

Then there's the other stuff, the things that can't be quantified. Were the baseball gods smiling down on the Marlins on the day they opened their long-overdue team Hall of Fame with the induction of Jeff Conine? Griffin Conine's blast sure put a thematic exclamation point on the statement that the Marlins made opening week.

The process for the Marlins so far seems to be settling into sustainability while also reviving a heritage of grit, endurance and surprise. The early-season vibes are outstanding and the players have subscribed to a culture of selflessness, which can only help their chances of success.

Once the Braves reincorporate injured stars like Ronald Acuña Jr., Spencer Strider and Sean Murphy, they are likely to leapfrog Miami in the standings. In the meantime, the Marlins have something to prove and won't hesitate to kick them while they're down.