There’s not much the Braves can do to screw up a mostly smooth season thus far.
They still stand head and shoulders above every other them in the MLB. They are safely above the other NL East teams including the Tampa Bay Rays, which they split a series by winning the first two games and dropping the third on Sunday.
The Braves’ .674 PCT average is the highest in the league, with the Rays behind with .624, which is the highest in the American League. Even better, the Braves are 8.5 games ahead of the .576 Miami Marlins, who will need to put in some serious work to catch up with the leading Braves.
The Braves have a few days off regular play, but not for pleasure. Eight starters have a date with the All-Star Game in Seattle this Tuesday. This also marks the middle of the season in Major League Baseball, when games get more critical for teams who want a ticket to the World Series.
For the Braves to get that ticket, they need to stay on the winning pace they were in the first half of the season. That means the team’s hitting has to stay solid and the pitching, especially in the bullpen, needs to improve.
After the All-Stars, the Braves play the Chicago White Sox (.431) for three games starting this Friday, then the Arizona Diamondbacks (.571), also three games, and immediately after that, another three-day with the Milwaukee Brewers (.538).
The White Sox is the only team the Braves face that’s below .500. The others are playing better. The Braves best chance for a sweep is with the Sox. The other two teams the Braves will likely split.
