We’ve been waiting all year for this Atlanta Braves team to get hot, but with just two months left, it’s now or ever in 2021.
It seems like every week on our podcast I start off by talking about how inconsistent the Atlanta Braves have been this year but how they’re still within striking distance of the NL East and will just take one big winning streak.
As we enter the second-to-last month of the 2021 season, that still remains true with the Braves entering Wednesday just a game below .500 and only 2.5 games back of the division-leading New York Mets.
But time is running out, and if this team is ever going to go on a big run, get over .500, and take over the NL East — it’s now.
Monday’s game against the Cardinals, which they won, started a streak of 18 games against teams who are around .500 or worse.
The Reds are by far the best team they play in that stretch — and they are a really good team.
But other than that, these are all series the Braves should be able to win pretty easily.
As Jeff Francour was talking about on Monday’s broadcast, you win all of those series and go 12-6 and you’re right there at the top of the division.
This is by far the easiest stretch of games the Braves have had all season and it couldn’t come at a better time.
Having said that, we have no evidence from the first four months of this season to believe this team is capable of going on such a run.
What they can’t do during this stretch is go 9-9 or even 10-8 — they have to win these series and put a good stretch together.
As I wrote on Monday, the schedule for the Phillies in September is pretty soft and they appear to be the biggest threat in the NL East.
That’s why it’s so important for the Braves to take advantage of this stretch now to give themselves a chance in September.