After taking 3 of 4 games from the Nationals over the weekend, the Braves’ magic numbers to clinch home-field advantage in both the National League playoffs and the World Series are down to 3.
The Braves (100-56) hold the No. 1 seed in the NL with a 3-1/2 game lead over the Dodgers (96-59) for the league’s best record.
The Braves hold a 3-game lead over the Orioles (97-59) for the best record in Major League Baseball. The team with the best overall record will have home-field advantage in the World Series.
As we have previously noted, the Braves hold the tiebreaker of head-to-head matchups over both the Dodgers and Orioles. The Braves just need to win three of their final six games to clinch both, regardless of what the Dodgers and Orioles do.
The Braves, with a bye into the NL Division Series, will likely play the winner of a Wild Card series at the Phillies. The Brewers have a magic number of 1 to clinch the NL Central and the No. 3 seed. The Phillies hold a 4-1/2 game lead over the Diamondbacks for the top wild card spot and the No. 4 seed, which will host one of the best-of-three series. The Cubs, who hold a one-game lead over the Marlins for the final wild card spot, start a series at the Braves on Tuesday.
The Braves, Dodgers and Orioles are off Monday. Here are the remaining schedules for all three teams in the final week of the regular season:
Braves
vs. Cubs: Tuesday-Thursday
vs. Nationals: Friday- Sunday
Dodgers
at Rockies: Tuesday (2)-Thursday
at Giants: Friday-Sunday
Orioles
vs. Nationals: Tuesday-Wednesday
vs. Red Sox: Thursday-Sunday
How to follow Atlanta Braves coverage in the AJC
Braves fans can follow every highlight today and throughout the playoffs with beat writer Justin Toscano and his sports colleagues at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on all of our platforms, including ajc.com, our e-Paper and the AJC app.
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
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Keepsake pages and souvenirs: Now is the perfect time to begin collecting keepsake sections, special front pages and other mementos from the Braves season. Special front pages and posters from AJC editions are available for purchase in the AJC store at ajc.com/bravesnews.
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