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Atlanta Braves Emerge Focused from Latest Homestand
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- Atlanta Braves Emerge Focused from Latest Homestand
The tough loss at the end shouldn't define the strong Braves homestand | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Atlanta Braves had their seven-game winning streak snapped on Monday night against San Francisco, but that shouldn't take anything away from what they just accomplished. After grinding through a brutal stretch earlier in the month, the Braves are coming out the other side of this homestand at 6-1, and they have every reason to feel good about where things stand.
Following a 10th-inning walk-off win against the Colorado Rockies, manager Walt Weiss called the team "battle-tested," which is backed up by a 6-3 record in one-run games in August that's helped push Atlanta to an overall mark of 17-10 for the month.
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That's the kind of language you want to hear from your manager in late August - not just a team that's winning, but one that's proven it can stay focused and find a way when games get tight.
The homestand also included a huge series sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Braves fighting for a first-round bye that goes to one of the league's top two teams. Atlanta currently trails the Dodgers by a half-game for the best record in the National League, but owns the tiebreaker between the two clubs.
There is importance of the Rockies series too. It's easy to come off a big series win, especially one that had a playoff atmosphere and implications, and fall flat. They stayed focused and kept rolling to pick up a second streak.
Despite Monday's loss, the Braves are playing their best baseball at the right time, and it's showing up everywhere in the lineup and rotation. Chris Sale is arguably having the best season of his Hall-of-Fame career and is a likely Cy Young finalist. Tyler Mahle has a 1.48 ERA since joining the team at the trade deadline, and Ozzie Albies is in the middle of a 15-game on-base streak,
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Sean Murphy is hitting .462 with four extra-base hits over the last week, and Ronald Acua Jr. is 7-for-13 with four walks since Friday. Drake Baldwin is hitting .282 in August, while Matt Olson and Michael Harris II have been remarkably consistent all season. Put it all together, and the Braves look primed for October.
For a team with championship aspirations, being "battle-tested" is the ultimate compliment. Doing what it takes to win - and staying locked in after a stretch that tested them - is the mark of a title contender. Coming off this homestand, the Braves are showing they have exactly that.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/braves/onsi as Atlanta Braves Emerge Focused from Latest Homestand .
