ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves are in the hunt for another National League East division title.
As of Tuesday morning, the Braves are currently at the top of the NL East standings by 4.5 games over the Philadelphia Phillies. Both teams are fighting for the division or a wild card spot.
So where does their “magic number” to clinch the division stand? The Braves lost to the Chicago Cubs on Monday night while the Phillies had the night off. That means Atlanta’s magic number remains seven to win the NL East.
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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 Cubs, Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds and Miami Marlins. The Phillies have series left with Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays.
Atlanta does hold the tiebreaker over the Phillies if they end up tied at the end of the season.
Atlanta Braves ‘magic number’ tracker
- 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 vs Cubs, Phillies vs Nationals
- Sept. 16: Braves vs Cubs, Phillies vs Nationals
- Sept. 17: Braves off, Phillies vs Nationals