The defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves have finally caught the New York Mets in the NL East.
With a 10-9 win over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night, they pulled into a first-place tie as the Mets fell, 8-2, to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
A lot has gone right for the defending champs, who are red-hot and look poised to take another shot at winning a title.
They are a serious threat to repeat and have shown why.
What’s interesting though about their recent run is that on June 2, they were 10.5 games back.
Since then, the Mets have played at a 96-win pace, which only goes to show how hot the Braves have been.
How incredible is The Braves run? They opened play on June 2nd, 10.5 games behind the Mets. Since then, the Mets have played at a .595 clip. That’s a 96 win pace and The Braves have caught them! Atlanta’s ~.718 Winning percentage would be a 116 win season over a full year!
— Mike Ferrin (@Mike_Ferrin) September 7, 2022
Braves, Mets Tied For First
If you want to look at it rationally, the Mets have given nothing to the Braves.
Simply put, if the Braves take sole possession of first place, they will have taken it from the Mets and earned it.
It isn’t so much a story about a Mets collapse.
The Braves have simply been playing on another level since early June and have been very difficult to slow down.
They even have one more series with the Mets at the end of the month.
That’ll certainly be an exciting series, if the race for the NL East crown hasn’t been decided by then.
But the Mets have not given the Braves anything.
Atlanta just heated up at the right time and have been relentless in their pursuit of first place.
It’s going to be an exciting few weeks in the NL East as the regular season winds down.
We’ll see who ultimately comes out on top.
A lot can still happen, but the Braves look to have the inside track right now.
NEXT: The Braves Have Finally Caught The Mets