By now, Atlanta Braves fans are fully aware of the predicament the team is in this season. After an anemic offensive showing against the Reds on Monday, Atlanta was on the outside looking in the NL wild card race once again with the Mets refusing to lose all of a sudden. If this season is any indication, the race for those last wild card spots is going to come down to the wire.
Given the sheer number of catastrophic injuries the Braves have suffered in 2024, that they are hanging around in the hunt for a playoff spot at all is remarkable. Both sides of the ball have been ravaged by the loss of top tier talent and yet Atlanta is still very much alive thanks to a couple key advantages and despite a lineup that looks like something we would have seen during the rebuild days.
NL Wild Card Standings: Braves' starting pitching and schedule gives them an edge down the stretch
Obviously having to hold out hope for a wild card spot is not ideal for a Braves fanbase that has become accustomed to winning the division every year. However, the Phillies blowing an eight game lead over Atlanta at this point is a pipe dream. However, when looking at the current (as of September 11) wild card standings while also looking at the contenders' strength of schedule the rest of the way, a ray of hope appears.
NL Wild Card Standings
Games Back | Strength of Schedule | |
|---|---|---|
Padres | +2.5 | .518 |
Diamondbacks | +2.0 | .497 |
Mets | - | .517 |
Braves | - | .491 |
Cubs | 4.0 | .472 |
Cardinals | 6.5 | .474 |
Amongst the teams with a realistic shot at a wild card spot, the Cubs and Cards have the easiest remaining 2024 schedule. However, they also have a much larger deficit to make up and even if they perform up to expectations of their schedule, they would still likely fall short. It would require a massive run from one of them AND a couple teams ahead of them to crater to sneak into the postseason
However, the Braves are in the group of wild card contenders that are within 2.5 games of each other and have the easiest schedule of all of them. Series against the Dodgers, Royals, and especially the Mets are potential pitfalls, but matchups against the Nationals, Reds, and Marlins are very real opportunities for the Braves to make up ground.
This is important because despite the offense's struggles to do much of anything, the Braves' rotation remains incredibly strong with current Cy Young favorite Chris Sale leading the charge. Against mediocre to bad teams, that advantage is amplified as the Braves "shouldn't" have to do much on offense to win those games.
Ultimately, the Braves have to actually execute down the stretch for any of this to matter and it sure would help if they won the series against the Mets to own the tiebreaker over them. However, it seems like the Atlanta has a clear path back to the postseason. It is just up to them to take it.