A losing streak is never good. But a losing streak to open the season seems to cast a particularly gloomy shadow -- especially for teams with playoff aspirations.
All the hopes, all the excitement and all the expectations seem to vanish in a blink when a team that's good on paper sputters out of the gate in reality. Fans know the season is long, but it's sometimes hard to remember just how long. So, if your team begins the season on a sour note, take a deep breath: There's plenty of time for things to turn around.
That's something fans of the 2025 Braves, Brewers and Twins should keep in mind. Those teams, which all came into the season as postseason contenders, all began the season 0-4 or worse. The Braves fell to 0-7 after another loss to the Dodgers on Wednesday night, leaving them as MLB's last winless team heading into Thursday's action. But there's no reason to panic.
There have been 14 teams to start a season with four or more straight losses and still reach the postseason -- and you don't have to go very far back to find some.
(Note to Atlanta, however: No MLB team has ever started 0-7 and reached the postseason.)
Here's a look those teams that turned a season-opening losing streak into a postseason berth.
2011 Rays (started 0-6)
Finished: 91-71; clinched Wild Card
Not only did the Rays lose their first six games in 2011, but they fell to 1-8 before things started to turn around. Thanks to two five-game winning streaks, plus a shorter three-game streak, the team ended April at 15-12 and never again fell below .500. Four other five-game winning streaks throughout the season kept the Rays in the playoff hunt, including a five-gamer to end the season that culminated in a dramatic walk-off, playoff-clinching homer from Evan Longoria in the 12th inning of Game 162.
1995 Reds (started 0-6)
Finished: 85-59; won NL Central
Because of a players' strike that delayed the start of the 1995 season by about a month, the Reds played just five games in April -- but they lost them all. May didn't start any better, as the team was just 1-8 after its first nine. But the month ended with vastly different vibes. Led by eventual MVP and future Hall of Famer Barry Larkin, Cincinnati went 20-6 in May, propelled by a nine-game winning streak to close out the month. The Reds kept the good times rolling through the summer and, despite a losing record in September, won the NL Central by nine games.
1974 Pirates (started 0-6)
Finished: 88-74; won NL East
This may be the most impressive entry on the list. The Pirates not only lost six straight to open the '74 season, but their turnaround took a long time to happen. They were just 18-32 on June 7 and were nine games out of first in the NL East. But a lineup that featured future Hall of Famer Willie Stargell and a whopping five players who would receive MVP votes that season soon kicked things into gear. Thanks to a few well-timed winning streaks, the Pirates finally took over first place on Aug. 25. Though the team lost control of the division in mid-September, Pittsburgh finished the season by winning eight of its last 10 to win the division by 1 1/2 games. All this is especially impressive considering that winning the division was the only path to the postseason in 1974.
2024 Mets (started 0-5)
Finished: 89-73; clinched Wild Card, advanced to NLCS
How many people, besides Mets fans, remember that New York started the 2024 season by losing its first five games? That was overshadowed/forgotten by the team's strong second half -- particularly its stellar play down the stretch that resulted in a dramatic final-day Wild Card clincher against the rival Braves, which paved the way to a stunning comeback in the Wild Card Series against the Brewers, and a surprising four-game victory over the Phillies in the NLDS. The saying exists for a reason: It's not how you start, but how you finish.
2024 Astros (started 0-4)
Finished: 88-73; won AL West
Like the 2024 Mets, the 2024 Astros started their season with a whimper, dropping their first four contests. The slump continued for nearly the entire first half, with Houston finding itself 12 games under .500 at one point. It wasn't even until June 30 that the team achieved a winning record. Building on that, the Astros finally began to win more than they lost and were tied for first at the end of play on July 19. They went back and forth with the Mariners for control of the AL West before finally going in front for good on Aug. 12. They clinched their fourth straight AL West title on Sept. 25. From June 19 onward, the Astros' .625 winning percentage was the best in the AL.
2023 Phillies (started 0-4)
Finished: 90-72; clinched Wild Card, advanced to NLCS
The '23 Phillies were a streaky team in general for most of the first half. A four-game losing streak here, a five-game winning streak there, rinse, repeat. The wins finally outpaced the losses on June 15 and, from there, Philadelphia maintained a .596 winning percentage. Two six-game winning streaks in June helped fuel an 18-8 month that put them in a good position in the NL Wild Card race. A solid July put them in a Wild Card spot and gave way to a strong August, which saw them go 17-10 and begin to pull away in the standings. They ultimately claimed the top Wild Card spot, swept the Marlins the Wild Card Series and then easily dispatched the rival Braves in the NLDS for a second straight year.
2021 Braves (started 0-4)
Finished: 88-73; won World Series
The 2021 World Series champion Braves famously didn't even have a winning record until August. And, oh yeah, they lost MVP candidate Ronald Acuña Jr. for the season after he tore an ACL right before the All-Star break. Things looked bleak. But after some Trade Deadline roster tweaks, the Braves finally broke the .500 barrier on Aug. 6 and then embarked on a surge that saw them win 12 of 13 to climb into first place -- a spot Atlanta would keep for the rest of the season. Aided by acquisitions Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario and Jorge Soler, the Braves closed out the season by winning 12 of 14 and won the NL East by 6 1/2 games. They rode that momentum all the way to a six-game World Series win over the Astros.
2012 Braves (started 0-4)
Finished: 94-68; clinched Wild Card
The 0-4 start was just an early blip for the 2012 Braves, who still finished April with a 14-9 record. May and June weren't as kind, as Atlanta had losing records in each month, but July was when the Braves really began the march toward the postseason. Two seven-game winning streaks made for an 18-8 month and put them in control of their own destiny for at least a Wild Card berth. By the end of August, they were the top Wild Card team, and a 19-8 September -- tied for MLB's best record that month -- only grew their lead as they cruised to an easy postseason berth.
2011 Brewers (started 0-4)
Finished: 96-66; Won NL Central, advanced to NLCS
The 2011 Brewers were as far back as 5 1/2 games in the NL Central in early May, but their slow start was merely a prologue to a fantastic finish. They played their way into first place by mid-June and got there to stay in late July. But in August, they ran away with the whole thing. The Brewers went an MLB-best 21-7 that month to grow their lead in the division to 8 1/2 games. A strong 15-10 September was enough to keep the second-place Cardinals at bay as Milwaukee took the NL Central crown by a comfortable six games before defeating the Diamondbacks in the NLDS on Nyjer Morgan's walk-off hit in Game 5.
1999: D-backs (started 0-4)
Finished: 100-62; won NL West
The second-year D-backs were built specifically to compete for a playoff spot, having bolstered their roster with new talent, including Randy Johnson, Luis Gonzalez, Steve Finley and Tony Womack. The move worked, but it didn't seem that way at first. Arizona dropped five of its first six games before turning the tide in mid-April. From April 12 through the end of the season, the Buck Showalter-helmed D-backs played at a .635 clip, steamrolling the rest of the NL West (and much of the greater National League) to reach 100 wins and capture their division by 14 games. From Aug. 1 through the end of the season, Arizona went an MLB-best 41-16.
1985 Cardinals (started 0-4)
Finished: 101-61; won NL pennant
The speedy mid-'80s Cardinals did a lot of running, but they didn't exactly run away with the NL East in 1985. Their 0-4 start led to a lackluster 8-11 April, but that was the last time they floundered in what became a highly competitive division. St. Louis turned things around in May, but still sat 7 1/2 games out of first on May 19. But June and July produced a lot of winning, and the Cardinals vaulted into the division lead as the season headed into August. An intense battle with the Mets for first place continued into the stretch run, but St. Louis -- powered by NL MVP Willie McGee (.353 average), NL Rookie of the Year Vince Coleman (110 steals) and lefty ace John Tudor (21-8; 1.93 ERA ) -- used a seven-game winning streak in late September to finally pull away and take the NL East crown.
1981 Astros (started 0-4)
Finished: 61-49; won NL West in second half of split season
The Astros were among the teams that benefited from the split-season format necessitated by the 1981 players' strike. Their 61-49 record put them in third place overall for the season, which would've eliminated them from playoff contention in a normal year, but they won the second-half AL West title by going 33-20. That punched their ticket to a special Division Series to determine who would represent the division in the NLCS. Houston's second-half surge was highlighted by a nine-game winning streak in late August and early September. Their 20-12 record in September and October was just enough to eek out a division title over the second-place Reds.
1977 Phillies (started 0-4)
Finished: 101-61; won NL East
Once the Phillies shook off the rust in 1977, the rest of the season was pretty great. But that doesn't mean it was easy. Philadelphia trailed by 8 1/2 games in the NL East in late June, but an eight-game winning streak ate a nice chuck of that. That streak certainly kept them in the hunt for the division lead, but they really sealed their postseason berth with a stretch in which they won 19 of 20 games in August. During that time, they went from 1 1/2 games back to 7 1/2 up. They held the second-place Cardinals at bay down the stretch and won the division by five games. Greg Luzinski (39 homers), Mike Schmidt (38 homers) and Larry Bowa (3.2 bWAR) all received MVP votes.
1969 Twins (started 0-4)
Finished: 97-65; Won AL West
In the first season of the Divisional Era, the Twins, led by MVP and eventual Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew, overcame their slow start pretty much immediately, reeling off seven straight wins after those initial four losses. That was followed a few days later by an eight-game streak that put them 2 1/2 games up in their division. A mild cooldown dropped them out of first place for a little while, and they and the A's took turns in first for a time, but they never looked back after July 5, which came during a stretch in which they won 14 of 15 games. From there, Minnesota staved off the A's the rest of the way and ultimately took the division by nine games.