3 Atlanta Braves takeaways from clinch night at SunTrust Park

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ATLANTA, GA – MAY 17: Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves reacts with Dansby Swanson #7 after Swanson’s three run home run in the sixth inning of an MLB game against the Milwaukee Brewers at SunTrust Park on May 17, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /

1. Seven Games Remain

Sure – the Braves are now 5 wins away from the century mark. They’ll have these Giants for 2 more games, 2 vs. the KC Royals at Kauffman, then they finish with the Mets in Queens.

Bigger picture things are in view than that milestone right now.

The Braves have 9 full days to get these things accomplished:

complete auditions for playoff roster spots
get Dansby Swanson hitting again
get Austin Riley hitting again
get healthy… perhaps having a couple of days to see if Ender Inciarte is going to be available
stay healthy(?)
get pitchers rested and tuned up… and the same time

You could see a Kyle Wright make a start. You could see a ‘bullpen game’. You will definitely see some unusual lineups.

If the team is really smart, they might consider some mid-afternoon workouts once the season ends so that they’re ready for the sun conditions if/when they get saddled with oddball 2-or-4-o’clock starting times for the NLDS.

Those are a pain, but also a reality of playoff baseball.

All of this is part of getting ready to do damage in just under two weeks, so 100 wins is a nice round number, but it isn’t the goal. Playing at the end of October is the goal.

Next. In the Clinch!. dark

Meanwhile, it’s looking a lot more like St. Louis will be the 1st round opponent. Plenty of time to get them scouted out.

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