The Braves completed a perfect road trip Sunday, winning for the ninth time in nine games, and now will see if their success carries over into a far more difficult stretch of the schedule.
The trip, albeit against three far-below-.500 teams, exceeded even lofty expectations, with the Braves sweeping series at Washington, Miami and Baltimore. Sunday’s 3-1 win over the Orioles wrapped up the trip, which transformed the National League East standings.
The Braves started the trip in second place in the division, a half-game behind the Philadelphia Phillies, and ended it 5-1/2 games ahead of the Phillies and 7-1/2 games ahead of the New York Mets (pending those teams’ games later Sunday).
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last Braves team to go undefeated on a trip to three different cities was the 1992 club, which went 10-0 on a July trip to Chicago, Houston and St. Louis.
But to measure how dramatically the Braves’ schedule is about to change, consider this: While their past nine games came against three teams that were a combined 84 games under .500 as of Sunday, their next eight games will come against three teams that are a combined 87 games over .500.
The ultra-challenging and potentially revealing stretch begins Monday night with the opener of a two-game series against the New York Yankees at Truist Park. The Yankees (72-52) are on a season-high nine-game winning streak, have the best record in the majors since the All-Star break (26-9) and have won each of their past nine series. While the Braves enjoyed a road trip, the Yankees enjoyed a 7-0 homestand.
Following the two games against the Yankees, the Braves will face the San Francisco Giants, who have MLB’s best record, in a three-game series at Truist Park starting Friday. And then the Braves will travel to Los Angeles for three games against the Dodgers, who have MLB’s second-best record, starting June 30.
The Braves have now won 13 consecutive road games, dating to July 29, the longest such streak in franchise history. The Braves’ previous single-season record of 11 consecutive road victories was set in 1890, when the franchise was based in Boston and known as the Beaneaters, and matched in 1956, when the franchise was based in Milwaukee. The 1994-95 Braves won 12 consecutive road games over the course of two seasons.
Before returning home to a tougher schedule, the Braves took care of business in Baltimore on Sunday.
They scored all three of their runs in the fourth inning against Orioles left-hander John Means, all the result of hits by players the Braves acquired at the July 30 trade deadline. The first run came on a Jorge Soler homer to left-center, the other two on a two-out double by Adam Duvall to deep center.
Soler’s homer was his 18th of the season, his fifth joining the Braves, and Duvall’s two-run double gave him 86 RBIs for the season, including 18 since the Braves reacquired him.
Braves starting pitcher Touki Toussaint allowed one run on five hits and three walks in 5-1/3 innings, striking out five and turning a 3-1 lead over to the bullpen. Relievers A.J. Minter, Chris Martin, Tyler Matzek, Luke Jackson and Will Smith held the Orioles scoreless the rest of the way. Jackson struck out the side in the eighth inning.
Earlier, the Braves turned three double plays to disarm Orioles rallies.
The Orioles’ losing streak reached 18 games.
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