10 Straight Wins: Importance of Strong Braves Finish

The Atlanta Braves still have some fight in them. It’s not for a spot in the MLB Postseason. It’s simply to show they can finish the season strong. 

With the 3-2 win over the Nationals on Tuesday night, they’ve now rattled off their 10th straight win. It’s by far their longest winning streak of the year. 

“You can’t ask for more than that, and that’s a really good trait in a group of guys,” manager Brian Snitker said after the game. “And that’s what they’ve been doing for a long time now.”

He said that the team has played like they’re pushing for a postseason spot, even if they’ve already been eliminated.

“We’ve got all kinds of games in this 10-game streak, and there’s been a lot of playoff atmosphere-type situations, too.” 

They’ve won two one-run ball games during this streak, including one that saw them score fewer than four runs. Neither has been a type of win that they’ve easily secured this season. 

Winning with fewer than four runs was arguably tougher for the Braves than winning a one-run ballgame. They have 21 one-run wins compared to just seven with three runs or fewer. The 10 losses where they lost either 1-0 or 2-1 made a difference this season. 

You can’t expect a team to win by those scores all the time, but a winning team is going to win them at least from time to time. 

It’s the end of the season, but to Snitker’s point, you’re seeing different types of wins for a change. How these games were played can be taken into the next season. Sometimes, that mindset that it can be done goes a long way. 

With four games left on the schedule, the team is within striking distance of winning out. Finishing the season on a winning streak would be a nice flipping of the script compared to how they started the season, losing seven straight. 

Even just taking three of the next four would give them a winning record since that dreaded winless road trip to end the year. Since they were swept by the Brewers on Aug. 6, they’re 28-17, giving them the third-best record in the Majors since then. 

This team could still finish within five games of a playoff spot after being as much as 15 games back. The fight to the finish helps them gauge somewhat where they’re at for next season. 

They can see where key upgrades need to be made in order to go on a run next season. We’ve known they’ve had the talent for a while. They need to fortify it in the right places. 

Outside of the overarching outlook of the team as a whole, it's helping on the individual level. For example, Drake Baldwin has started nine of the 10 games, and has bolstered his Rookie of the Year resume.

He's batted .389 with a 1.214 OPS with three home runs, seven total extra-base hits and 14 RBIs. He's now in striking distance of 20 home runs and 80 RBIs after mainly platooning this season. The voters are going to notice.

So, keep the win coming. At the very least, it's not going to hurt anyone's outlook.

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