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Atlanta Braves Sweep White Sox, Maintain 5.5 Game Lead In NL East

By Deke Lloyd

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - JULY 12: Austin Riley #27, Ozzie Albies #1 and Dansby Swanson #7 of the Atlanta Braves celebrate after defeating the San Diego Padres 5-3 in a game at PETCO Park on July 12, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - JULY 12: Austin Riley #27, Ozzie Albies #1 and Dansby Swanson #7 of the Atlanta Braves celebrate after defeating the San Diego Padres 5-3 in a game at PETCO Park on July 12, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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On Sunday, the Atlanta Braves completed a three-game series sweep over the Chicago White Sox. The Braves continue to play almost flawless baseball going into September. With the win today, the Braves maintain a 5.5 game NL East lead over the Washington Nationals.

After the series sweep over the Chicago White Sox, the Atlanta Braves sit 30 games over .500, 84-54. It was the offense that woke back up against the White Sox, scoring 26 runs in the three-game series. The pitching continues to be strong for the Braves. The bullpen, particularly the back end of the bullpen, gets stronger with every outing.

Even with the series sweep, the Braves were not able to build their NL East lead up any more than the 5.5 games it was before the series. The Braves and Washington Nationals continue to almost mirror each other game after game. The Braves have won four straight games. The Nationals are also on a four-game winning streak. Going into the final month of the season, the Braves will have a fight to the very end. With seven games with the Nationals in the final month, the Braves are in for a fight for the NL East.

The Braves are the team with the lead, and that matters. We have seen past Braves teams collapse in the last month of the season, but this iteration of Braves doesn’t strike me as the kind of team that will suffer that fate. This team’s base, Freddie Freeman, Brian McCann, Josh Donaldson, are solid veterans. Throughout the season the Braves have continued to add experienced veterans, Billy Hamilton, Franciso Cervelli, that can provide some stability down the stretch. This Braves team is in for a fight in the final month. But, this team is in the position they have earned by playing great baseball all season. Being 30 games over .500 going into September is no fluke.

Interleague baseball continues for the Braves this week. The Toronto Blue Jays are back for another two-game series, this time in Atlanta. The Braves are coming off a split in their two-game set with the Blue Jays last week. After playing such good baseball in the White Sox series, the Braves will be looking to continue to ride that momentum to another series sweep. Afternoon baseball is on the schedule for a Labor Day holiday tomorrow. First pitch will be at 1:20 tomorrow afternoon.

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