Reasons exist for making, missing playoffs
Saturday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks was the 142nd game of the season for the Atlanta Braves.
Atlanta entered the contest with a 2½-game lead in the National League East over the Philadelphia Phillies, and seven of its last 10 games of the year will be against the Phillies. That includes a three-game series in Philadelphia to end the season, which could very well determine the two teams’ postseason fates.
After a three-game series in San Francisco to begin the week, the Braves will close their home schedule by hosting division rival Washington and the surging St. Louis Cardinals. Other than a road series against the New York Mets, each team the Braves will play as the year winds down either is or was recently in playoff contention.
The Braves came into Saturday with a 77-64 record and already have more wins than the 72 from last year. There are reasons to believe the Braves will make their first playoff appearance since 2013, and there are also reasons to gather that Braves are not quite ready yet.
Here are a few reasons for each vantage point.
WHY THEY’RE IN ROAD RECORD
The Braves entered Saturday with a 40-30 (.571) record away from SunTrust Park this season. That is the secondbest road percentage in the National League, only trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers (38-28, .576).
Including the season-ending road series against the Phillies, the Braves have 10 more road games after Saturday.
JOHAN CAMARGO
Camargo, who took over the starting spot at third base May 15, has 15 home runs since, which is second on the team to Ronald Acuna Jr. (20).
Camargo has 14 doubles since the All-Star break, which is tied for the most in the National League, and he is hitting .322 (56-for-174) with a .540 slugging percentage since the break.
COMEBACK MODE
The Braves’ ability to come back has kept them in games and enhanced their belief that they can win.
Atlanta has 17 last at-bat wins, including seven walk-off wins.
“We have shown that we never give up,” Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson said. “We have a lot of fight, and I believe that we will see this through.”
WHY THEY’RE OUT HOME RECORD
The Braves will not make the playoffs if they do not improve on their 37-34 home record.
The Colorado Rockies and the Boston Red Sox both swept the Braves at SunTrust Park. Those series included several winnable games, including the most recent loss on Wednesday.
“We have to be better at home,” Braves catcher Tyler Flowers said. “It’s important to win games here, and we have to figure it out.”
Including the sweep by the Red Sox to start the week, all of the Braves’ three multi-game sweeps happened at SunTrust Park. The San Francisco Giants took three from May 4-6, while the Colorado Rockies won four from Aug. 16-19.
DEFENSE
If the Braves do not get more consistent on defense, they will not make the postseason.
They are 25-27 when committing an error in a game. Conversely, they are 52-37 when they are error-free.
STARTING PITCHING
The Braves will not make it if their starting pitchers cannot go beyond six innings.
The Braves are 47-20 when their starter goes six innings or more. That has not happened much recently as Atlanta is 3-7 in its last 10 games.
“It’s no secret that we’re at our best when the starting pitching is going well,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We’re like any other team. We win with pitching and defense.”