SEATTLE — Once declared dead by some pundits, the Braves are in sole possession of first place in the National League East for the first time this season.
Atlanta on Friday defeated the Seattle Mariners, 6-4, at T-Mobile Park. The Braves (87-51), who have won eight in a row, lead the New York Mets by 1/2-game in the standings.
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Here are five observations:
1. On the morning of June 2, the Braves were 10 1/2 games back.
On the morning of Aug. 12, they were seven back.
On the morning of Aug. 22, they were four back.
They now sit alone in first place. They can win a fifth consecutive division title if they take care of business, including in a three-game home series versus the Mets later this month, the rest of the way.
For months, the Braves fought their way up the standings. Last season, the Braves grabbed first place on Aug. 15. It took them almost a month longer this season, despite all the winning they’ve done, because the Mets continued playing great baseball.
The Braves’ solution to that: Play even better baseball. The Braves have gone an MLB-best 64-24 since the start of June. The Mets have not played poorly – the Braves simply have not lost often enough for the Mets to stretch their lead.
And on Friday night, the NL East race – the best sprint in baseball – took its latest turn.
The defending world champions, flexing their muscles over the last few months, are on top. But there is a long way to go.
2. How good have the Braves been since June?
Consider this: Since the start of June, the Mets have gone 52-35 … and now find themselves in second place.
The Braves, who are on an eight-game winning streak, possess the majors’ longest winning streak. Atlanta has put together three winning streaks of at least seven games this season (the Dodgers and Yankees have also done this) – and all have come since the start of June.
The Braves won 14 straight games to open June, then grabbed eight consecutive victories from Aug. 19 to 16, then matched that with Friday’s victory.
3. This season, Atlanta has proven it can win in tons of ways.
But the Braves’ identity still lies in their power. They hit lots of homers.
In this game, they slugged four of them. Dansby Swanson opened the scoring with a two-run home run in the first inning, while Travis d’Arnaud (fifth inning), Michael Harris (sixth) and Robbie Grossman (sixth) all launched solo shots.
The Braves’ 210 home runs this season rank second behind the Yankees, who have hit 215.
4. From Ronald Acuna to Austin Riley to William Contreras to Swanson and more, the Braves have a lot of talented right-handed hitters. They can stack a lineup with them.
The Braves have started this trip by facing three left-handed starting pitchers. They have defeated all three.
The Braves are 32-13 versus left-handed starting pitchers this season, the second-best winning percentage against lefty starters (.711) in the majors. They trail only the Houston Astros and, with Friday’s win, moved ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals in this category.
Since the start of 2018, the Dodgers and Cardinals are the only NL clubs who have been better against left-handed starters than Atlanta.
5. Bullpens can be volatile, leaving it difficult to predict how Atlanta’s relievers will perform in the postseason. But the Braves sport a deep group that could be a major weapon down the stretch.
Protecting a two-run lead, the Braves deployed A.J. Minter for the final two outs of the seventh, Raisel Iglesias for the eighth and Kenley Jansen in the ninth.
Before the Braves’ relievers closed out Seattle, Charlie Morton allowed four runs on six hits over 6 1/3 innings. Morton gave up three homers.
