Atlanta Braves: Playoff odds, magic numbers, and remaining schedule

It’s that time of the year for Atlanta Braves fans when we start scoreboard watching, focussing on magic numbers, and watching what other teams are doing.

With a six-game lead in the NL East and just 32 games remaining, we certainly can’t get too excited yet, but the Atlanta Braves are in a pretty good spot with an overall record of 78-52.

Last season on August 24 the Atlanta Braves held just a three-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies with a record of 72-56.

Through 130 games last year they were 73-57 and still just three games ahead of the Phillies.

At this point, it really seems like it’s going to be a two-team race in the NL East with the Washington Nationals being their biggest threat.

The Nationals have played two fewer games than the Atlanta Braves at this point and are seven back in the win column and five back in the loss column.

Those two teams also have seven more head-to-head matchups, which we’ll look at further in a moment.

This, to me, is the most exciting time of the year as I love having multiple games on every night with postseason implications.

It’s even more exciting when you’re team is in the race as the Atlanta Braves have been for two straight seasons now.

So let’s take a look at what the Atlanta Braves need to do down the stretch to ensure they repeat at division champs. As well at what they need other teams to do in order to help them out.