- Spencer Strider earned an MLB-leading 17th win in a 4-1 victory over the Phillies
- Austin Riley’s two-run blast helped to solidify that win and the postseason berth
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The Atlanta Braves clinched their sixth straight NL East title, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 on Wednesday night behind Spencer Strider’s major league-leading 17th win and Austin Riley’s two-run homer.
Kirby Yates struck out Brandon Marsh to end the game and the players danced in a mob near the mound as Phillies fans booed them off the field. Yates earned his fifth save.
Many Braves players – included Ronald Acuna Jr. took in all the boos and even egged on the crowd.
The Braves are now the first team to officially lock up a spot in Major League Baseball’s playoffs. Four teams – the Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Oakland A’s, and Colorado Rockies – have already been eliminated.
Atlanta took special satisfaction in clinching on the same Citizens Bank Park field where the Phillies eliminated them last October in the NL Division Series.
The Atlanta Braves are off to the postseason after clinching their sixth straight NL East crown
Spencer Strider notched his 17th win of this regular season – the most in baseball as of now
A two-run blast from slugger Austin Riley helped to clinch the division title for Atlanta
The Phillies won that series 3-1 – just as Atlanta won this four-game set.
The Phillies lead the NL wild card and the teams could face each other in October.
Cristopher Sánchez (2-4) struck out a career-best 10 in 7 1/3 innings.
Strider (17-5) won for the fifth time in six starts, allowing one run and four hits in seven innings.
Strider struck out nine to boost his MLB-best total to 259.
He also gave the bullpen some needed rest after a rough first three games in Philly.
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