Atlanta Braves Last Chance to Make a Run at the NL East
If the Atlanta Braves are going to win their fifth straight division title, they need to have a big week against the New York Mets.
You don’t have to win the division to win the World Series, but especially with the new playoff format, it’s more of an incentive. The Atlanta Braves have dug themselves a hole in the NL East, and this week might be their last best opportunity to dig themselves out.
On July 23rd the Braves pulled within a half-game of the Mets in the NL East.
Since then, the Mets have gone 17-3 while the Braves have gone 12-8 with half of those losses coming head-to-head against the Mets.
The Braves now enter a four-game series at home with the Mets and are 5.5 games back with 46 games left to play.
It’s at a point where a split in this series is essentially a loss as you remain 5.5 games back with only 42 games left to play.
But if Atlanta manages to win three of four, they’re just 3.5 games back with 42 games to play — including three more head-to-head matchups at home.
That makes a huge difference.
Braves and Mets — After This Series
This is the toughest week of the year for the Braves as they play four games against the Mets and then three against the Astros — two of the three best teams in all of baseball.
After that, it gets a little easier for the Braves with 20 games against teams below .500, 16 against teams above, and three against the Giants who are at .500.
The week ahead for the Mets isn’t easy either with four in Atlanta and four in Philly before playing two in the Bronx.
That’s a tougher 11-game road trip than what Atlanta just faced.
But, once they get through that they have 28 games against teams below .500 and just 9 games against teams above .500.
That’s why this week is so important for the Braves if they’re going to have any chance at winning the division.
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Once the Mets get through this tough stretch Atlanta really needs to be within three games to even have a shot down the stretch with how light the Mets schedule gets in September.