*Photo from TSN*
The defending champions will get a chance to defend their title this October. Travis D'Arnaud homered, Dansby Swanson homered, and the Atlanta Braves defeated the Washington Nationals with a 3-2 victory on Tuesday night in Atlanta.
The Braves clinched a playoff berth with the victory, ensuring themselves the chance to defend their world series title. It's the 5th straight year they've clinched a playoff spot, and they're looking to make it 5 straight division titles as well, but that will require passing the New York Mets.
D'Arnaud said of clinching a playoff spot that "Obviously we're aiming for higher, but making the playoffs is a big deal. A lot of Hall of Famers played their whole career and never made it to the playoffs. But for us it's a simple as try to win every series. It's a marathon. It's not over. So we’ll just keep going after it until the end."
Passing the Mets is not exactly an insurmountable task however. The Braves sit just one game back of the Mets for the NL East lead entering play on Tuesday, and they start a series on September 30 in Atlanta. The Braves are riding high, with 5 straight wins and 6 wins in 10 games.
After the first 3 innings went scoreless, the Braves got it started in the 4th inning. With Matt Olson on base, D'Arnaud cranked a two run home run to center field, putting the Braves ahead 2-0. In the 6th inning, Joey Meneses scored on an error, getting the Nationals on the board and cutting their deficit to one run.
It would stay 2-1 until the 8th inning. With the bases empty, Swanson hit what would end up being the game winning home run, a solo shot to right field, putting the Braves ahead by a 3-1 score. In the 9th, Luis Garcia singled to right field, scoring Ildemaro Vargas to cut the deficit to 3-2, but the Nationals couldn't score again.
Getting the start for the Braves was Charlie Morton, who was responsible for one run on 3 hits and 3 walks in 5 1/3 innings pitched. Collin McHugh pitched the next 1 2/3 innings, followed by one from AJ Minter. Kenley Jansen worked the 9th and recorded his 36th save of the season.
Starting for the Nationals was Patrick Corbin, who only recorded two outs before leaving with back spasms. Erasmo Ramirez allowed two runs while pitching 3 innings, taking the loss. Jordan Weems worked 2 1/3 innings, with Hunter Harvey and Kyle Finnegan also pitching.
Corbin said of his injury that "The last pitch that I threw just kind of grabbed on me. It's in a spot right in the middle of my back on the lower side of it. If I could have pitched, I would have. Never want to put the bullpen in a situation like that. I tried to wait as long as I could to see if it would, but it just wasn't going away. I don't think it'll be too serious."
Up next, the Braves and Nationals conclude their series on Wednesday afternoon. Bryce Elder starts as the Braves go for the series sweep, while Paolo Espino gets the start for the Nationals.
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