Braves win sixth-straight NL East title; first team to punch ticket to MLB Postseason
For the sixth 12 months in a row, the Atlanta Braves are NL East champions.
The Braves clinched the division on Wednesday night time, turning into the first team to punch their ticket to the 2023 MLB Postseason.
Atlanta was topped division champs after they defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1. They elevated their division lead over them to a whopping 17 video games.
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Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after defeating the Philadelphia Phillies to clinch the NL East at Citizens Bank Park on September 13, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
That lead is by far the biggest between top-two seeds in any division, which is kind of the accomplishment, contemplating Philly owns the highest wild-card spot.
The Braves have been kings of their division since 2018, however this 12 months’s squad could also be one of the best they’ve had of their latest run – together with the 2021 World Series champion team – and perhaps ever.
Atlanta is now presently 96-50, placing them at a 106-win tempo. The 2021 team gained 88, and the franchise’s single-season document is 106 from 1998 – Morgan Wallen even wrote a music about that squad, rightly titled “’98 Braves.”
But the ’23 Braves are actually on their approach to being one to keep in mind without end in baseball, as they’re led by not one, however two MVP candidates.
The Atlanta Braves have a good time after defeating the Philadelphia Phillies to clinch the NL East at Citizens Bank Park on September 13, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
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Matt Olson leads the majors with 51 homers and 128 RBI, whereas Ronald Acuña Jr. turned the first particular person in MLB historical past to hit 30 homers and steal 60 bases in a season on the ultimate day of August (he very effectively might do 40-70, by the way in which).
While baseball purists need small ball again within the sport, Atlanta is proving that the long-ball is king. Entering Wednesday, they’d 281 homers – the closest was the 226 by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
But it isn’t simply homers that they hit – in truth, it is merely one of the best offense in baseball. Entering play Wednesday, their .275 common, .344 on-base proportion, and .501 slugging proportion all lead the majors, as do their 848 runs.
As far as pitching is worried, their ace in Spencer Strider has 259 strikeouts, by far probably the most within the majors (getting into Wednesday, Kevin Gausman was second with 217). Their relievers owned a mixed 3.56 ERA heading into their clincher, the third-lowest mark amongst MLB bullpens.
The Atlanta Braves pose for a team photograph after defeating the Philadelphia Phillies to clinch the NL East at Citizens Bank Park on September 13, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
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If the season ended proper now, they’d face both the Phillies or Chicago Cubs within the NLDS. They misplaced to the Phillies in final 12 months’s division sequence.