Braves Hold Lead Despite Historic Fade
Atlanta's slide has narrowed the gap, but New York's collapse is the real division story
The Braves beat the Mets 5-3 on Friday and still lead the NL East by three games over Philadelphia, but the standings sheet is lying about how this month has actually gone. Atlanta is 5-14 since June 9. New York has cratered to 36-52, the franchise's first stretch 16 games under .500 since 2018.
The math still favors Atlanta, barely. A three-game cushion over Philadelphia looks thin when the Braves have gone 3-7 in their last ten and 5-14 since June 9. Nobody in the NL East has run away with anything.
The Mets are the bigger story. New York fell to 36-52, 16 games under .500, matching the deepest hole for a club that still finished with a winning percentage tracked by Elias since the 1914 Boston Braves went 12-28 on their way to a pennant. This version of the Mets is not chasing October.
New York still owns the season series, 2-1, thanks in part to an 8-1 rout of Atlanta back in June. Small consolation. The Braves took two of three this weekend behind two homers from Matt Olson and one apiece from Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies, and the magic number in the East belongs, for now to whoever stops losing first.