Division race heating up as Braves head out on the road

The NL East race remains tight with just 13 games remaining for the Atlanta Braves. Elsewhere, the Padres and Phillies are still battling for wild card positioning while the Brewers are currently on the outside looking in.

The Division Race

The Braves saw their five-game winning streak come to an end Sunday with a 3-2 loss to the Washington Nationals. They will now head out on a seven-game road trip that includes a four-game series against the Phillies and then a three-game series in Washington. Following that trip, they will return home for a showdown three-game set against the Mets.

Atlanta didn’t lose any ground in the division race as the Mets suffered a 6-0 loss to the Brewers. New York is off Thursday and then travels to Oakland for a three-game set beginning Friday. That is followed by another off day Monday and then a brief stop at home for a two-game series against Miami before heading to Atlanta.

It is important to note that the Braves and Mets are even in the loss column with 56 losses. Atlanta can shave a half game off their lead with a win Thursday and again Monday.

The Wild Card

Atlanta clinched its spot in the postseason with a win Tuesday and is closing in on nailing down the top Wild Card spot. Atlanta has an 11.5 game lead over the Padres entering play Thursday.

Things are less settled behind them. The Padres have won five straight games and have taken a 1.5 game lead over the Phillies for the second Wild Card spot. Philadelphia snapped a five-game skid with a 4-3 win in 10 innings over the Blue Jays Wednesday. They are 2.5 games ahead of Milwaukee who are currently on the outside looking in.

San Diego will finish a three-game series with the Cardinals Thursday before heading to Colorado. The Phillies get Atlanta for four while the Brewers will begin a four-game set in Cincinnati Thursday.

Playoff Picture

The Playoff picture hasn’t changed since we last looked at it on Tuesday. The Dodgers have the No. 1 seed locked down. The Mets are still at No. 2 and the Cardinals are No. 3 and still 7.5 games up in the NL Central.

If the season ended today, the Braves would host a best-of-three series against the Padres at Truist Park starting on October 7. If successful, they would head to Los Angeles on the 11th to begin the best-of-five Division Series.