Where The Braves Stand In The NL East

So far, this isn’t the season the Atlanta Braves, or their fans, hoped it would be.

The Braves set out to lasso in something that eluded them last season despite record wins: a World Series Championship.

But what started out as a promising redemption year got dashed with the season-ending injuries of starting pitcher Spencer Strider and outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. The Braves couldn’t afford to lose either and wound up losing both top players in the first half of the season. Other starters like AJ Minter and Michael Harris III would also wind up on the injury list, but their injuries weren’t season-enders.

But it wasn’t just the injury bug that hindered the team’s upward progress. For most of the season, the Braves struggled in hitting and pitching, something they had little issues with last season. The bullpen gave up games that should have been in the bag and the team found themselves losing back-to-back series and getting shut out in multiple games this season.

Despite the lack of traction caused by the injuries and pitching/hitting slumps that cramped the Braves’ style all season, they are still in surprisingly good shape. They are in second place behind the Philadelphia Phillies, only five games behind with a .549 winning percentage record. They are on a three game winning streak as of this writing and have put some distance between themselves and the trailing New York Mets.

Here’s how the Braves are fairing in the NL Standings…

Data as of August 29th. Does not include the 8/29 game results.