NL Wild Card race runs through The A

Don’t fall asleep yet, Braves fans - this team still has a lot of influence on how several NL playoff races shape out down the stretch this season

The Braves have a 13.5-game division lead on the road to their sixth consecutive division title, but they will be one of the most influential teams in this year’s Wild Card race.

Just as the Giants could taste a playoff spot amidst a madhouse race for an NL Wild Card spot, the Braves have jumped out from behind the corner, making a .5-game deficit in the Wild Card look like it might be a September full of playing catch-up.

The Braves took two-of-three from the Giants last weekend, and they’ll haunt the Giants for three more games this weekend. This just begins the run of Wild Card contender opponents the Braves will run through to end the season as six teams are all within 4.5 games in that race.

The Braves have 16 games and face four of those opponents, including the Giants, throughout the rest of the season: seven games versus the Phillies (2.5-game lead with the top WC spot), three games with the Marlins (2 GB) and three games with the Cubs (.5-game lead with the second WC spot).

The Braves are 24-10 against the six Wild Card contenders in the NL this season already, and they’re 27-8 against the NL East. As the race comes down to the wire, the MLB’s best team will make life hard on these teams trying to climb the ladder. The Diamondbacks and Reds, who are currently in the middle of a four-game set with a .5-game disparity between the two (D-Backs claim third WC spot as of now), have the benefit of avoiding the Braves down the stretch. Although, the Diamondbacks have the tougher draw of the two, facing the AL-leading Orioles and NL-West-leading Dodgers in September.

The Braves know the role of spoiler too well, and even with a commanding division lead, they maintain the opportunity to crush some hopes, nonetheless, and six of those games are in Truist Park. They also have a rematch with the Dodgers after being swept earlier this season.

Atlanta went 18-8 last September on the way to swiping the Mets’ division lead, including a three-game sweep of the Marlins, taking five-of-seven with the Phillies and dropping two-of-three in San Francisco.

Even as the stakes feel low with a commanding division lead, the Braves will play a big part in some of the MLB’s biggest drama, the NL WC race, to end the season as well as fending off the second-place team in the NL East for two series’.

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