The Atlanta Braves are National League East champions again. Atlanta clinched the division Sunday with a 4 to 2 victory over the Houston Astros, completing a three game road sweep and securing its seventh division crown in nine seasons.
One swing changed the clincher
Houston starter Hunter Brown held Atlanta scoreless for five innings and struck out ten, but the game turned immediately after the Astros went to their bullpen.
The Braves loaded the bases against Bryan King in the sixth. Ozzie Albies tied the game with a single, then Mike Yastrzemski drove a three run homer to right field for a 4 to 1 lead. Atlanta sent eight batters to the plate during the inning.
Yastrzemski entered the series finale with seven home runs since joining the Braves. His eighth delivered the swing that officially ended the division race.
Atlanta survives the early pressure
Jose Altuve opened the scoring with a solo homer in the fourth, and Houston threatened to add more in the fifth. Braves starter Martin Perez left with the bases loaded and one out, but Victor Mederos retired Yainer Diaz and Christian Walker to escape without allowing a run.
That escape kept Atlanta within one run before the offense broke through. Ray Kerr later allowed a solo homer to Diaz, but Dylan Dodd finished the ninth and struck out Jeremy Pena for the final out.
The victory moved Atlanta to 92 and 64. The Braves have returned to the top of the division after missing out on the National League East title in each of the previous two seasons.
The postseason picture
Clinching the division guarantees Atlanta a place in the postseason, but its seeding remains unsettled. The Braves still have an opportunity to improve their position during the final week of the regular season.
The loss carried consequences for Houston as well. The Astros fell to 77 and 79 after losing ten of fourteen games and remained one game behind Texas in the American League West race.
Atlanta can now turn its attention from qualifying to preparing for October. A deep lineup, timely bullpen work and a division clinching road sweep offer the Braves momentum as the regular season reaches its final days.
*Featured image: Mike Yastrzemski during spring training in 2020, photographed by Jeff Marquis. Licensed under [Creative Commons Attribution 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/).*