Takeaways From Cleveland Guardians Series Loss To Braves

After winning their last six series, the Cleveland Guardians reverted to some old bad habits against the Atlanta Braves over the weekend and dropped three straight games.

Even though the Guardians were unable to at least salvage one game against the Braves, there were a lot of takeaways from this series. Let’s break down three of them.

Where’d The Guardians’ Offense Go?

The Guardians have been one of MLB’s hottest teams over the last few weeks, primarily because of the offense. Cleveland had a team slash line of 251/.326/.421 from the All-Star Break heading into their series against the Braves.

However, Atlanta found a way to shut the Guardians’ bats down.

Jul 5, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians first baseman Kyle Manzardo (9) reacts after striking out to end the game against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Guardians only scored a total of five runs in their three-game set against the Braves, with four of those runs coming in innings three and four during the series finale.

At times over the weekend, Cleveland’s plate approach and output were reminiscent of the Guardians’ offense during their 10-game losing streak in June.

This series loss to the Braves certainly makes Cleveland’s road to the playoffs much more difficult. If the Guardians are hoping to go on a run over the final six weeks of the season, the offense can’t look like it did against the Braves over the weekend.

Steven Kwan Snaps Out Of Slump

As a team, the Guardians' offense wasn’t great against the Braves. However, it wasn’t all negative on the offensive end of things. There is one player who showed some encouraging signs at the plate, and that’s Steven Kwan, who seemingly snapped out of his two-week slump.

Outside of an ill-advised bunt attempt in a key spot in the series finale, Kwan had a solid series at the plate. He recorded three mult-hit games for a batting average of .500 (6-for-12) and only struck out once.

Even including the series against the Braves, Kwan is hitting .248 with a .360 slugging percentage over the last month.

If the Guardians still want to make a playoff run this season, they’ll need more of the Kwan that showed up against Atlanta.

Aug 17, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan (38) celebrates after scoring during the third inning against the Atlanta Braves at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Cleveland’s Pitching Staff Struggles

As rough as a series this was for Cleveland’s bats, it wasn’t much better for the pitching staff.

Cleveland’s starting pitchers of Joey Cantillo, Slade Cecconi, and Logan Allen combined to pitch just 14.1 innings and allowed 19 hits and eight earned runs.

Because of how much the Guardians were forced to rely on their pitching staff, not just against the Braves, but against the Miami Marlins in the previous series, Cleveland was forced to make a roster move on Sunday, bringing back Tim Herrin to the big-league level.

The offense hasn’t been Cleveland’s strength all season; it’s been the pitching. However, if the Guardians’ arms start to struggle on a consistent basis, Cleveland could see their playoff hopes start to slip away, too.

The Guardians desperately need an ace-like start from Gavin Williams on Monday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks to simply give the bullpen some rest.

Where’d The Guardians’ Offense Go?

Steven Kwan Snaps Out Of Slump

Cleveland’s Pitching Staff Struggles

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