An Atlanta Braves fan's guide to the 2023 MLB postseason
Your Atlanta Braves won the National League East on Wednesday for the 6th straight time, celebrating on the same Philadelphia field where their postseason run ended last year.
So, what now?
Well, the job's not over. It's something we've heard time and time again from these Braves players: There's larger goals in mind than just winning the division.
More regular season games to win
The Atlanta Braves enter September 14th with a record of 96-50. They're 7.5 games up on the Los Angeles Dodgers for best record in the National League, which would give them home field advantage all the way through the NLCS (were they to reach). Additionally, Atlanta holds the tiebreaker over the Dodgers, having won the season series four games to three.
Additionally, Atlanta's still in line for World Series home field advantage, as well, were they to reach the Fall Classic. As of Thursday morning, the Braves are 4.5 games up on the 91-54 Baltimore Orioles for best record in all of baseball.
The remaining schedule for Atlanta includes Miami for 3 games (away), Philadelphia for 3 games (home), Washington for 4 games (away), the Cubs for three games (home), and another 3-game series at home with Washington to conclude the regular season on October 1st.
UPDATE, as of 9/16: The Magic Numbers are 9 for National League home field (with Dodgers losses also dropping that number) and 11 for World Series home field (with Orioles losses dropping that number).
What's the Postseason Seeding and projected matchup?
If the postseason were to start today (September 14th), Atlanta would have the #1 NL seed and face the winner of the Wild Card series that pits the #4 & #5 seeds against one another. As of now, that would be the Philadelphia Phillies versus the Chicago Cubs.
The #2 seed, projected to be the Los Angeles Dodgers, would face the winner of the other Wild Card series that pits #3 (Milwaukee Brewers) versus #6 (currently a tie between Arizona and Cincinnati) in the other Divisional Series matchup.
If this seeding holds, Atlanta could potentially face the Phillies again, with the loser going home. The Braves won three of four in Philly, but even Brian Snitker admitted the Phillies are probably the scariest team to face in a short postseason matchup.
When would these games start?
The Wild Card matchups begin on October 3rd and run through October 5th - three games in three days. The Divisional Series would begin on October 7th, and the National League's matchups are being broadcast on TBS.
So Atlanta would face a five-day layoff, with their final game of the season being on October 1st at home against Washington and not playing another opponent until six days later.
Here's the full NLDS schedule (broadcast on TBS):
Game 1: Saturday, Oct 7th (home)
Game 2: Monday, Oct 9th (home)
Game 3: Wednesday, Oct 11th (away)
Game 4 (if necessary): Thursday, Oct 12th (away)
Game 5 (if necessary): Saturday, Oct 14th (home)
The NLCS, if Atlanta advances, would start on Tuesday, October 17th and run for up to seven games, with the higher seed hosting games 1&2, traveling for games 3-5, and hosting games 6&7 (again, if necessary). This would also be broadcast on TBS.
The World Series is scheduled for October 27th, potentially running through November 4th, with the higher seed hosting games 1&2 and 6&7. This will be broadcast on Fox.
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