ATLANTA — UPDATE: The Braves have won the National League East for the first time since 2023.
The Atlanta Braves clinched a spot in MLB playoffs with their win over the Houston Astros on Friday night. On Sunday, they will have a chance to wrap up the National League East division title.
The Braves “magic number” is down to one following Saturday’s win over the Astros and Philadelphia Phillies loss to the New York Mets.
Atlanta now holds a 6-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies. So if the Braves win or Phillies lose on Sunday, Atlanta wins the division.
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Any combination of Braves victories and Phillies losses that equals the magic number will result in the NL East Division title for the Braves.
To calculate the magic number, take the number of games remaining on the leading team’s schedule, add the number one, and subtract the number of games the first-place team leads by in the loss column.
Each time the Braves win, that reduces the magic number by one. Each time the Phillies lose, that also reduces the magic number by one.
The Braves have series left with the Astros, Cincinnati Reds and Miami Marlins. The Phillies have series left with the Mets, Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays.
Atlanta does hold the tiebreaker over Philadelphia.
Atlanta Braves ‘magic number’ tracker to win NL East
- Sept. 11: Braves won, Phillies lost. Magic number = 9
- Sept. 12: Braves won, Phillies lost. Magic number = 7
- Sept. 13: Braves lost, Phillies won. Magic number = 7
- Sept. 14: Braves lost, Phillies off. Magic number = 7
- Sept 15: Braves won, Phillies lost. Magic number = 5
- Sept. 16: Braves lost, Phillies won. Magic number = 5
- Sept. 17: Braves off, Phillies won. Magic number = 5
- Sept. 18: Braves won, Phillies lost. Magic number = 3
- Sept. 19: Braves won, Phillies lost. Magic number = 1
- Sept. 20: Braves at Astros, Phillies at Mets
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