Atlanta Braves Go on Astounding Winning Streak, Closing the Gap in the NL East
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The World Series Championship-winning Atlanta Braves are on a hot streak as of Wednesday. They’ve won 13 games in a row, and they’ve narrowed the New York Mets’ lead to just five games. The team might be missing their excellent second baseman, the indomitable Ozzie Albies, but they’re still playing their hearts out on the field.
The Braves have benefited from the return of star slugger Ronald Acuna Jr. Acuna is a force in the batter’s box, averaging .297 so far, knocking out 16 runs and 6 homers. The season’s only just getting started but opposing teams are feeling the pressure from the Braves’ offense.
The Braves’ 13-game win streak is the best in the Majors so far this year and the Braves’ best performance since a 14-game winning streak in 2013. The franchise’s best winning streak of the modern era came in 2000 when they rattled off an unbelievable 15-straight win streak. “You feel like you’re on top of the world when you keep winning every night,” said rookie center fielder Michael Harris II. “I feel like we’re doing everything in every aspect of the game.”
The winning streak was much-needed for the defending champs. The team struggled in May, posting an unimpressive win/loss ratio and allowing the Mets to get 10 and a half games ahead of them in the National League East division. Now that lead is just five games, and the Mets haven’t even been playing poorly. So far, the Braves are undefeated in the month of June, and they don’t seem to be showing any signs of slowing down.
One aspect of the Braves’ success so far this month has been the impressive performance of nearly every player in the batting lineup. On Tuesday’s game against the Washington Nationals, Dansby Swanson, Travis d’Arnaud, Marcell Ozuna, and Michael Harris all homered–and that’s the second night in a row those four players have all sent one out of the park.
The Braves manager, Brian Snitker, was characteristically laconic when asked about the team’s recent success. “It’s just one of them [sic] things,” he playfully told reporters. “It’s good. I like it.” That’s an understatement, to be sure: the Braves have an eye-opening run differential of 54 over their opponents across this 13-game streak. One player is also soaking it up in Nationals Park: Dansby Swanson has homered in five straight games in the stadium, dating back to August 13 of 2021.
Time will tell if this is the start of a legendary comeback for the defending champs on the way to the playoffs in October.