The Atlanta Braves took another major step toward an NL East championship over the weekend, winning two of three against the rival Philadelphia Phillies at Truist Park and leaving the series with a five-game lead in the division.
Friday night’s opener was a thriller. Atlanta rallied three different times in extra innings before finally beating Philadelphia 6-5 in 11 innings. The Phillies scored in both the 10th and 11th, but the Braves answered each time. Drake Baldwin delivered the final blow with a walk-off double in the bottom of the 11th to give Atlanta the victory.
Saturday night wasn’t nearly as dramatic. The Braves exploded for eight runs in the fourth inning on their way to a dominating 12-2 victory. Ronald Acuña Jr. homered and drove in two runs, while Michael Harris II added a three-run homer. Tyler Mahle turned in another strong performance on the mound, allowing only one run over seven innings.
Atlanta had a chance to finish off the sweep Sunday, but Philadelphia’s offense came alive late. With the game tied at two, the Phillies erupted for seven runs in the eighth inning and pulled away for a 9-4 victory. Alec Bohm broke the tie with a two-run double, while J.T. Realmuto finished with three hits and three RBIs. Matt Olson provided some late offense for Atlanta with his 39th home run of the season.
Despite Sunday’s loss, the weekend belonged to Atlanta. The Braves won the series, finished the regular-season series against Philadelphia with a 9-4 record, and improved to 88-62. More importantly, Atlanta left the weekend with a five-game advantage over the Phillies in the NL East with just 12 games remaining and a magic number of seven to clinch the division.
The Braves now hit the road and head to Chicago for a three-game series against the Cubs beginning Monday night at Wrigley Field. You can listen to the Braves and the Cubs starting with the pregame show at 6:25pm on Kool 102.7.
