The Atlanta Braves are 46-25, the best record in baseball, with the Dodgers (47-27), Brewers (44-26) and Yankees (44-27) close enough to breathe on them. A year ago this club went 76-86.
That 2025 finish ended a run of six straight NL East titles from 2018 to 2023 and kept Atlanta out of the postseason for the first time since 2017. The 2021 World Series winners had become a cautionary tale. Brian Snitker moved into an advisory role, and Walt Weiss, his bench coach for eight seasons, took over the dugout.
Weiss said he sensed a difference by spring training. “It’s a group that likes to compete,” he said. “They get along really well.” The players “perform for the team,” in his words, and he credited “the right type of guys” for that.
Pitching first
Atlanta’s staff has the lowest ERA in the majors at 3.29. The bullpen is better still: 2.82, with a 1.11 WHIP. Raisel Iglesias, Robert Suarez, Dylan Lee, Didier Fuentes and Dylan Dodd have a combined 1.26 ERA deep into June. Suarez, a two-time All-Star right-hander, signed a three-year, $45 million deal over the winter, the biggest splash in an otherwise quiet offseason. Jeremy Hefner, the former Mets pitching coach, is in his first year with the club.
Chris Sale has a 2.30 ERA in 13 starts, fifth among qualified starters. Hitters are batting .215 against him, his lowest mark since 2018.
The bats came back
First baseman Matt Olson leads NL first basemen in FanGraphs WAR at 2.5 and has an .894 OPS. Second baseman Ozzie Albies had a .671 OPS last year, more than a hundred points under his career average, and looks like himself again. Center fielder Michael Harris II, who faded after winning Rookie of the Year in 2022, has found his form too.
As a team the Braves rank third in the majors in slugging at .424, and their run differential of +107 trails only the Dodgers (+143) and Brewers (+113). They hold a seven-game lead in the NL East.
Olson pointed to continuity. “We’ve got a lot of the same dudes,” he said in the visitors’ clubhouse at Citi Field. “Everybody is always talking smack to each other. There’s no ego in here.”
Holes they have covered
Ronald Acuna Jr. has been on the injured list twice with a hamstring strain. Third baseman Austin Riley is hitting .203 with an 80 OPS+ over 71 games. Spencer Schwellenbach, AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep have each fought injuries for much of the year.
Then ace Spencer Strider was shut down again on Monday with inflammation in his right elbow.
