The Braves are close enough to the finish line that the champagne could come out this week.
At 88-62, Atlanta enters a three-game set with the Chicago Cubs on Monday with a chance to lock up a postseason berth as soon as Tuesday, one year after missing the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons in 2025. The path is there, and it’s pretty straightforward: win Monday and Tuesday, then get losses from the Arizona Diamondbacks on both days. Arizona sits 2.5 games behind the San Diego Padres for the National League’s final wild-card spot.
There’s another way, too. If Atlanta wins both games and the Padres lose both, the Braves would also need at least one Diamondbacks loss Monday or Tuesday.
That’s just the beginning of what’s still on the table for Atlanta. The Braves own a five-game cushion over the Phillies in the National League East with 12 games left entering Monday, and they could clinch the division as early as Friday.
They’re also chasing the No. 2 seed in the National League playoffs, sitting 2.5 games behind the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, who are 90-59. If Atlanta gets past Los Angeles, it would earn a first-round bye and home-field advantage to open the National League Division Series on Oct.
The Cubs series opens Monday at 7:40 p.m. with right-hander Reynaldo Lopez (4-4, 4.13 ERA) matched against left-hander David Peterson (7-8, 5.28 ERA). Tuesday brings lefty Martin Perez (8-9, 3.08 ERA) against right-hander Kevin Gausman (9-12, 4.60 ERA). Wednesday’s matchup is still unsettled for Atlanta, while the Cubs are set to start left-hander Shota Imanaga (10-10, 3.88 ERA).
Atlanta has not announced a starter for Wednesday night, though left-hander Chris Sale would be lined up for the assignment. The Braves have been careful with the 37-year-old as they prepare for October.
Because Atlanta took the series over Philadelphia over the weekend, the results of the first two games against Chicago could determine whether Sale takes the ball Wednesday. If the Braves clinch before then, they could save him for Friday’s opener in Houston.
There’s also a way Atlanta could keep Sale on track for Game 1 of the Wild Card Series on Sept. 29 without pushing him too hard. One option would be a brief appearance in the Sept. 23 home game against the Reds. Another would be to start him on regular rest against the Cubs on Wednesday and then give him a full week before his final postseason tuneup in the middle game of the three-game series against Cincinnati.
The Braves’ recent surge at the plate has helped set this up. Ronald Acuña Jr. and Matt Olson both found their timing during the weekend series against Philadelphia, and that mattered in a big way.
Acuña is batting .358 with a .375 on-base percentage and .660 slugging percentage over his last 13 games. Olson has homered twice in his past six games after going without a home run since Aug.
That’s a promising sign for a team that entered September staring at one of the league’s toughest remaining schedules and has since shown it can hang with the National League’s top clubs in a postseason setting.
For Chicago, Pete Crow-Armstrong has pushed himself into the MVP conversation. The 24-year-old has 41 home runs and 36 stolen bases, putting him within reach of the 40-40 club, a group reserved for players with at least 40 homers and 40 steals in a season.
Tuesday’s game will be the Braves’ final live broadcast on Gray Media this season. The Braves and Gray Media simulcast 25 games for free over the air to fans across Braves Country this year, reaching 26 markets throughout the Southeast.
In Other News...
Freddie Freemans Latest Dodgers Issue Revived A Braves Reunion Dream
Freddie Freemans run with the Dodgers has already been long enough to remind Braves fans how much he meant in Atlanta, and recent injury concerns have only sharpened the old what-if. Freeman has dealt with several physical setbacks in recent years, including patellar tendonitis, and with his contract in Los Angeles running through 2027, the path back to Atlanta is not exactly a short one.
Still, the idea has not gone away entirely, especially with the Braves looking at roster changes down the road and 2028 emerging as the first realistic window for a reunion. Any fit would come with questions about Freemans health, where he would play, and how much money a deal like that would require, but the possibility is the kind of storyline that keeps resurfacing whenever his future gets a little less certain. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Face One Tough October Roster Call After Latest Injuries
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The pitching side is where the newest wrinkle shows up, with Ray Kerr stepping into the projection in Elders place. Atlanta is also weighing the kind of depth pieces that can matter in October for pinch-running and pinch-hitting, and that leaves the front office and coaching staff with one more difficult call to make as the bracket approaches and every roster spot becomes a little more valuable. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Ownership Just Got Pressured Into An Awkward Franchise Debate
A major shareholder in Atlanta Braves Holdings has pushed the club into a debate it probably would rather avoid, publicly urging the board to explore a sale of the franchise. Breach Inlet Capital Management framed the argument around a strong market for sports sales, the Braves unique assets and the idea that the teams stock is being priced below where recent MLB franchise sales have landed.
The timing is what makes the pressure feel so pointed. Breach Inlet also pointed to potential labor disputes in Major League Baseball and upcoming tax law changes as reasons to consider moving now, turning a valuation discussion into a broader question of whether the right window to sell could be opening. For a franchise with no shortage of appeal on the open market, that is the sort of challenge ownership cannot simply shrug off. [Read more 🡒]