With no room for error entering a series that could determine the NL East facing two of the best pitchers in baseball in Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer, the Braves did what they’ve been doing since the trade deadline in 2021—they stepped up to the plate and took care of business on the biggest of stages.
With a three-game sweep of the Mets, the Braves now control their own destiny in the division needing just one win against the Marlins to earn their 5th straight NL East title (a Mets loss to Washington would also do the trick). As a sports town, Atlanta has seen its fair share of heartbreaks and letdowns, but as Steak Shapiro and Sandra Golden said on 92.9 The Game’s The Steakhouse, this Braves organization is continuing to tell a new story.
“You have a baseball team that went out last year and won a World Series that nobody thought was going to happen when you lost your best player, Ronald Acuña Jr., and you had the Dodgers, Astors, and all these teams in front of you. Now you look up and you’re in June 10.5 games out and the narrative was ‘there’s a letdown, that was a freakish run they went on'…Now, you realize we’re in the middle of a legacy run here with young players that are signed for long-term with a clutch gene and a clutch factor that Atlanta has to be so proud of,” Shapiro said.
Not only did the Braves trail the Mets by double-digit games in the division, they trailed at different times throughout this weekend’s series, but as is the case with the best teams and organizations, Shapiro says there was never a doubt that Brian Snitker’s club would get back on track.
“The scenario of being 10.5 out, the scenario of the injuries that you’ve had again this year with Acuña out, [Ozzie] Albies out, [Mike] Soroka and other things that have happened and the margin for error was zero this weekend. So, you tell me if it doesn’t feel a little bit like rooting for Alabama football with Nick Saban or rooting for the Patriots with Bill Belichick & Brady or rooting for the Lakers…As a fan, you’re like ‘I know how this goes because we always step up. We will find a way',” he said.
The Braves' offense is once again firing on all cylinders at the right time with Dansby Swanson and Matt Olson leading the way as both hit home runs in all three games over the weekend, and the bullpen is rounding back into form allowing just one run in the Mets series. In addition to the momentum gained, Golden also noted that the ability to seemingly avoid the Wild Card round gives Spencer Strider more time to get healthy as the Braves gear up for a run at a repeat.