Despite season-ending injuries and a quiet trade deadline, Atlanta relied on stellar pitching from Tyler Mahle and a late-season surge to secure their division.
The Atlanta Braves clinched the NL East on Sunday afternoon, just two days after clinching a playoff spot. The Braves moved into first place in the division on April 8 and never let go of the top spot until they clinched it in Houston on Sunday.
Atlanta also held the league's best record for a long time, but like many MLB teams, they faced plenty of adversity midseason. Braves manager Walt Weiss gave a passionate postgame locker-room speech, champagne bottle in hand, saying the Braves were at their best when faced with adversity.
The Braves had to deal with multiple injuries to one of their best pitchers, Spencer Strider. He landed on the 15-day IL in March and June, and was ultimately placed on the 60-day IL in late June, ending his season.
Star Ronald Acuña Jr. also had multiple stints on the IL early in the season, dealing with a hamstring strain. When he was healthy in spurts, he struggled at the plate, casting doubt on the Braves' lineup’s ceiling.
Austin Riley has also had a disappointing year, as the usual power bat has just 17 home runs and a .220 average with 69 runs batted in.
That wasn’t it, however. The Braves' starting pitching depth, given the injury to Spencer Strider, was a question mark. They also didn’t make any big additions at the trade deadline, whiffing on Jacob deGrom, Logan Webb, and Tarik Skubal.
All they did was get Tyler Mahle, who became one of the best acquisitions at the trade deadline, flipping a switch and becoming one of the best pitchers in baseball over the past two months.
In eight starts, he was 4-1 with a 1.28 ERA in 49.1 innings pitched. The Braves’ offense was carried by guys like Michael Harris II. and Matt Olson. Harris hit .289 with 26 home runs and 85 runs batted in, while Olson was his usual power-hitting self, hitting 40 bombs for the first time since 2023 and only the second time in his career.
The Braves never lost more than three games in a row in the second half of the season, and that only happened twice. Luckily for them, Ronald Acuña has hit a hot streak, hitting three home runs in his last five games, including a grand slam Saturday night.
As Weiss said, the Braves have the hard part out of the way: winning the division, which basically takes an entire season. They can accomplish everything else week by week.
