Braves give Phillies all the bulletin board material they could need after series loss

The Atlanta Braves had reason to be optimistic before their pivotal four-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies. 

In July, the Braves stood 10 games behind the Phillies in the race for the National League East division. Then, Atlanta snapped a six-game losing streak in early August and became one of the hottest teams in Major League Baseball throughout the remainder of the month. The Braves won 12 of their last 16 games before the divisional series, and the 10-game division lead Philadelphia held in July had dwindled down to just five games.

The Braves had an opportunity to narrow their division deficit to just one game against Philadelphia. Instead, they squandered their last opportunity to remain in the hunt for their seventh consecutive division title. 

The Phillies won three of the four games against the Braves, all but securing their first NL East division title since 2011. Philadelphia has a 95.9 percent chance of winning the division after the series, according to FanGraphs. 

Braves are hoping for a playoffs rematch against the Phillies

Despite getting run out of Citizens Bank Park, the Braves haven’t shied away from the prospect of facing the Phillies again. Braves manager Brian Snitker said the club would welcome a rematch in the postseason, according to MLB reporter Mark Bowman. 

“Absolutely,” Snitker said. “I hope we can. I’d love nothing else than to see them again because that means we’re in [the playoffs].”

Phillies slugger Nick Castellanos bullied the Braves throughout the series, and he took advantage of Braves rookie reliever Grant Holmes in two separate games. In the series finale, Holmes paid the price for pitching two consecutive fastballs to Castellanos, who hit the second for a walk-off single in the 11th inning. 

Snitker, however, still believes Holmes can handle Castellanos. 

“[Holmes has] got weapons to get him out,” Snitker said. “He’s a good match for him. It didn’t work out. That’s one of the things we didn’t execute.”

Philadelphia finished 14 games behind Atlanta in each of the past two seasons. Both times, the Phillies entered the playoffs as a Wild Card team and knocked off the Braves in the five-game NL Divisional Series. If the two clubs faced each other in the postseason for the third consecutive year, Atlanta would enter the matchup as the Wild Card team. 

While Atlanta’s likelihood of winning the division has fallen to just 3.3 percent, they still have a 76.6 percent chance to make it to the playoffs. The Braves currently hold a slim lead for the third NL Wild Card spot, with the New York Mets are just one game behind.