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Atlanta Braves Set Up Division Crown Clash with Phillies after Sweep of Twins

With a sweep of the Minnesota Twins, the Atlanta Braves have raised the stakes for their four-game set with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Harrison Smajovits

Atlanta Braves outfielders Jarred Kelenic, Michael Harris II, and Ramón Laureano celebrate the sweep of the Minnesota Twins.
Atlanta Braves outfielders Jarred Kelenic, Michael Harris II, and Ramón Laureano celebrate the sweep of the Minnesota Twins. / Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
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The Atlanta Braves took down the Minnesota Twins 5-1 to complete the sweep to start their road trip. They improve 73-60 on the year. 

Contributions came from across the lineup from Jorge Soler going yard with a solo shot in the two spot to Luke Williams having a two-run double at the bottom of the order. 

Olson had another good night with an RBI double and Ramon Laureano picked up an RBI sing. 

Starting pitcher Chris pitched six innings of one-run ball. Bullpen was dominant again with three scoreless innings, including one by Luke Jackson - sound the trumpets. Everything clicked. 

This is the most games over .500 they have been since May 14 when they were 26-13. Not too shabby when they were only five games over .500 on Aug. 11 - the day they hit rock bottom with a disastrous-late-game collapse in Colorado. 

At that point, they were dropping almost every winnable game and had capped off a stretch against the league's bottom feeders that saw them go from having a cushion for the first wild card to completely below the playoff line. 

Since that blown lead, they’ve won 12 of their last 16 and even pulled the road record back over .500. They are once again five games back of the first-place Philadelphia Phillies, who suffered a 10-0 loss to the Houston Astros on Wednesday night. 

They have set themselves up for a big division push with this sweep. They head to Philadelphia for a four-game set the hottest teams in baseball. Only the Detroit Tigers can match the Braves' 8-2 record in the last-10 games.

A series win would put them right on the Phillies' heels at three-games back. Atlanta hasn't been that close to first place since May 15. Obviously, a sweep puts them just a game behind on September 1st.

Another series win over the Phillies would put a lot of pressure on the team that has had a comfortable lead most of the season. It's an unusual 6:40 p.m. EST first pitch in Philadelphia on Thursday night with Charlie Morton scheduled to take the mound for the Braves.

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Harrison Smajovits

HARRISON SMAJOVITS

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