Only 31 games remain in the regular season, and the Atlanta Braves find themselves in a suddenly tight NL East race with the Phillies. Should Atlanta hold on to their division lead down the stretch, they would also likely finish as the third seed in the National League. Unfortunately, the third seed is not good enough to secure a bye in the wild card round, and Atlanta's potential wild card opponent is a familiar one.
The Padres are the current sixth seed in the NL and would face the Braves in the three-game wild card round if the season ended today. Braves fans do not have to think too far back to when these two clubs last met in October, when San Diego promptly swept Atlanta in the 2024 wild card round. What is even more troubling is the fact that the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers would likely await the winner of this series in the NLDS.
After the grind of a 162-game regular season, teams that qualify for the postseason are happy to be in the field in any manner. The Braves expect to make the playoffs, and after missing the postseason altogether in 2025, it seems misguided to complain at all. However, if the postseason were to start today, the Braves would have a nightmarish path to begin October.
Braves would have one of the toughest paths to a World Series if the season ended today
Horrible flashbacks of Michael King dominating the Braves' lineup in 2024 arise when we look at the current playoff bracket. Additionally, the 2026 Padres have been playing much better in the second half, with Fernando Tatis posting a 196 wRC+ post All-Star break and a dominant bullpen suited for October baseball.
The good news is that in this hypothetical series, the Braves would not have to travel to Petco Park, which has been a house of horrors in recent years. Regardless, if the Braves were to get past the Padres in the wild card round, they would then face the National League second seed in the NLDS.
Sadly, the current second seed in the NL is the defending champion Dodgers. As we all know, the Dodgers are loaded with talent, and beating them in any series is a difficult challenge. Furthermore, beating LA just to reach the NLCS seems downright rude. Yes, Petco Park is a tough place to play for Atlanta, but Dodger Stadium is on a different level. The Braves rarely play well in LA, and if the postseason bracket remains this way, Atlanta will have their hands full as they attempt to make a deep run in October.
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