Travis d'Arnaud's bold take is what makes Braves a dangerous postseason out

What we have seen out of the Atlanta Braves very recently leads me to believe that they will be a tough out in the postseason, assuming they do qualify. Atlanta's magic number to clinch one of the final two NL Wild Card berths sits at one. With either a win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday afternoon or an Arizona Diamondbacks loss to the San Diego Padres, the Braves will be getting in.

Of course, Atlanta still has two more games at home on Monday, if need be, to secure its seventh straight postseason berth. Friday night's 3-0 win was clutch, and Saturday night's 2-1 walk-off win was even more so. As Travis d'Arnaud sent that baseball deep into the Atlanta area sky, he let it be known after the game who was responsible for getting him there: Reynaldo Lopez and the bullpen.

When talking about his walk-off home run, Atlanta's first of the season, d'Arnaud said it perfectly.

“I think what our pitchers did is better than what I did at the end, because I wouldn't have had that chance unless our pitchers kept us in the game like they did."

While this has not been the most fun Braves season to follow along with and cover professionally, I cannot say enough good things about the starting rotation. Chris Sale is winning the Cy Young. Lopez has been a revelation. Max Fried has been mostly nails. Spencer Schwellenbach has gotten better with every start. Every so often, Charlie Morton punches Father Time in the face with one last gem.

Atlanta will likely be the No. 5 or No. 6 seed, but one Milwaukee and San Diego will not want to face.

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Travis d'Arnaud credits Atlanta Braves pitching staff for postseason run

To be told, you would think a catcher of d'Arnaud's caliber, one who has seen just about everything, would credit his pitching staff whenever he had the opportunity. However, this feels more than genuine. He has seen this staff send three pitchers to the Midsummer Classic. While one Spencer went on IL, another emerged as a focal point of this talented Atlanta rotation for seasons to come.

Although the offense has been this team's bugaboo for most of the campaign, great pitching and timely hitting is a tough combination to beat. This was the recipe for success during the Team of the 90s era of Braves baseball. Atlanta had three hall-of-fame pitchers on its staff for over a decade in Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz. Nothing will ever top that, but this season has been fun.

Ultimately, even if Atlanta were to bow out in two games at either Milwaukee or San Diego, so what? This team was dead to rights only a few weeks ago. Barring some unforeseen parlay that only Atlanta sports can ever draw up, the Braves will be in the postseason for the seventh straight season. This has been nothing short of a year from hell for Atlanta, yet we should see this team play in October.

Where would the Braves even be without the daily tremendous performances out of its starting staff?