Braves Clinch NL East Title with Nationals Loss to Marlins

The Atlanta Braves are the 2013 NL East champions.

Unfortunately, it didn’t play out with the “dream” scenario of the Braves celebrating their accomplishment with an on-field eruption after a win, but this will do. The 2nd-place Nationals fell to the Miami Marlins by a 4-2 margin in the nation’s capital on Sunday, and when the final out was recorded, the Braves were in the midst of the 6th inning against the Cubs in Chicago.

Braves fans can thank little-known Miami right-hander Tom Koehler for doing the honors in shutting down Washington. He out-dueled Dan Haren (who wasn’t awful in allowing 3 ER) through 6 innings, and the big offensive blow that carried Miami to victory was a 2-run home run by slugger Giancarlo Stanton in the 1st inning.

From that point forward, Washington never evened the game, and their (faint) dreams of NL East glory came to a halt. The Braves are currently in progress (as I pen this) against Chicago, and hopefully (and justly), they will come out with a win before the division-clinching celebration begins.

Tomorrow, focus turns toward the race for home-field advantage in the National League playoffs, but for today, it’s time to celebrate what has been a tremendous season that resulted in the first division title since 2005.