Atlanta – Matt Olson And the Dansby Swanson They were too young to fully appreciate what Chipper Jones did when the Mets and Braves played their last major late season streak in Atlanta. But two suburban Atlanta residents imitated Jones when they pushed the defending world champion a step away from fifth in a row. Eastern National League nickname.
turns out they Get ready to enjoy another deep post-season trackthe Braves completed a sweep of three matches with 5-3 win Above the Mets on a Sunday night in Trust Park. Olson and Swanson participated in each of the three games, and Atlanta maintained control throughout one of baseball’s biggest series of the year.
Remaining games: 3
Rank update: Braves lead two games
Trailer info: Atlanta owns the tiebreak by virtue of winning the head-to-head season series (10-9)
NL East magic number: One
“When I came to the park on Friday, I told my wife, ‘Okay, the playoffs start today,'” said Braves coach Brian Snicker, “and that’s how I felt all weekend.” “These guys were ready for it. They were ready to take that fight.”
The Braves on June 10 entered a game-and-a-half behind the Mets, losing four of five to New York in early August. But this same flexible group that won the world championships last year despite having no winning record before August finished the regular season again on a strong note.
With this sweep, Atlanta took their 100th win, took a two-game lead with three games remaining and lowered their magic number. The NL East race will be decided with any one Braves win in Miami or any one loss the Mets can suffer against the Nationals.
The only way the Braves can be denied a league title is if they lose three times in Miami while the Mets win each of their last three games.
“Nothing has been done yet,” Swanson said. “That’s still part of the journey, and there’s still time to go. No point in exhaling. I feel like you just have to keep getting out there and competing and performing every single day.”
Swanson sure allowed his competitive spirit to shine through. The Short Braves fired the crucial home green light from Max Scherzer on Saturday and then re-energized the crowd when he returned in the first half on Sunday against Chris Bassett. He helped win on Friday with Homer off Jacob Degrom.
Swanson became Homer’s first brawler in all three games of the series against the Mets since Andrew Jones in 2006. After five innings, Olson became second.
Olson and Swanson were just five years old when Chipper Jones hit four home runs out of the nine at bats he hit during a three-game sweep of the Mets in Atlanta near the end of the 1999 season. New York entered that streak in their first game at the top of the division and left them in center second forever.
With their performances, Olson and Swanson may have relived some of the pain Jones created 23 years earlier.
“I grew up in, I guess you could call it, the ‘age of hate’ from New York fans to Chipper,” Olson said. “And they don’t hate you if you don’t do something.”
There was a lot to appreciate for the Braves during this streak that began with wins over Degrom and Scherzer. Max Fried Killed by a bug in the stomach To throw five strong innings into the series opener and Kyle Wright took his 21st win after faltering in the first half on Saturday. Bullpen also thrived as Kenley Jansen got three saves and the Relief Corps only allowed one on 12 2/3 rounds.
But the most encouraging development came from Olson, who entered play on Monday scoring .102 with one Homer and .353 OPS over the past 25 games. The first starting player has now arrived in five of his past six matches, including each of the past four.
Olson, Swanson and Austin Riley have struggled at some points over the past two months. But like Jones in 1999, they each rose to the occasion just in time to once again seemingly dashed the Mets’ hopes of a league title.
“We’ll enjoy the sweep and then go to Miami to take care of the business,” Olson said.
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