Down the stretch they come!

Braves Begin Final 22 games

Atlanta’s Recent Surge Reinforces 7 Game Divisional Lead

The Atlanta Braves continue their current homestand tonight but with tougher competition. After sweeping both the White Sox and the Blue Jays , the Braves will face the Washington Nationals in a 4 game series beginning tonight at SunTrust. The 2nd place Nationals trail the Braves by 7 full games after falling to the Mets yesterday. That loss deflated the team a bit following the dramatic win the night prior in which Washington overcame a 6- run 9th inning deficit to win on Kurt Suzuki’s walk-off home run.

This next big series kicks off a 14 game stretch during which the Braves play 7 games each against the Nats and the Phillies.

Atlanta is in a position to claim the NL East title with a good performance over the next 2 weeks. Or…..if things go poorly, the Braves could find themselves in a late September dogfight with either or both of those teams. That’s unlikely, as they have played well all-around over the past 3 weeks, going 15-5 in that stretch.

But there is a precedent for such a downfall. In 1964 the Phillies led the National League from Opening Day. (this was 5 years prior to the introduction of divisional play). They held a 6.5 game lead with just 12 games to play…..And then went on a 10 game losing streak, losing the pennant to the Cardinals by 1 game in what was dubbed “the Phold of ’64”.

Such a stretch is quite unlikely for the Braves, who have had game-heroes arise from all areas-including the bench- in the past 3 weeks. That trait is well-known among good teams. Even the bullpen has solidified, owing to each of Alex Anthopoulos’ 3 recent acquisitions finding their roles.

Tonight features Strasburg pitching against Max Fried for the Braves. With a big weekend, the Braves could really create useful separation. Even with a split, they are in good shape. But no Phillies ’64 redux…please.

Patrick Conarro