It’s no surprise that a Braves team that’s been the class of the Majors for months now would also be the first team in the Majors to clinch a playoff spot. Atlanta made it official with a 5-2 win over the Pirates on Sunday afternoon, but for the odds-on favorite to win the World Series, the work is just getting started. Next up: an NL East title, which they can take a big step towards this week with four games against the second-place Phillies. With just a few weeks left in the 2023 regular season, we’ll be keeping track of the Braves’ magic number to win the East, with updates every morning.
(As we near the playoffs and divisions are decided, teams are given “magic numbers” to clinch their division. This is just a fun term for the number of wins needed to secure a division so that no matter what else happens, that team will win the division come the last day of the season.)
Braves magic number: 2
9/13 update: Atlanta managed to thwart yet another dramatic Philly comeback attempt on Tuesday night, meaning the magic number is all the way down to two — and meaning that the Braves can wrap things up with another win at Citizens Bank Park in the series finale on Wednesday.
9/12 update: After splitting a doubleheader with the Phillies on Monday, Atlanta has whittled its magic number to clinch the NL East down to four — meaning it’s increasingly likely that the Braves will have things wrapped up by the end of the week.
This has been a foregone conclusion since before the All-Star break — Philly’s slow start and the Mets’ total implosion has had something to do with that — but the now the finish line is officially in sight. Any combination of six Braves wins and Phillies losses tips the division to Atlanta, meaning that this could be sewn up before we hit the weekend. After the East is won, they’ll turn their attention to the top overall seed in the NL playoffs, which they lead by six games over the Dodgers after their big series win in L.A. to start the month.
