The Atlanta Braves are cruising through the National League East right now. With their 8-6 win over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday, Atlanta is now 17-8, and has a commanding five-game lead in the NL East. It’s just April 23, but with the Mets and Phillies in free fall, this division has clearly become the Braves to lose.
On Thursday, Atlanta will go for another series win, although at worst, even if they do lose on Thursday, it would be a series split because of the four-game series. However, with the team’s dominance so far, they have made MLB history through their first 25 games.
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Atlanta Braves Made MLB History on Wednesday
GettyWASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 22: Michael Harris II #23 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates hitting a solo home in in the third inning with Mauricio Dubón #14 during the baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on April 22, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Per Opta Stats, “In MLB history, only one team has had the following numbers over the first 25 games of a season: +50 or better run differential, 30+ home runs, 200+ pitching strikeouts, 0 blown saves. That one team is the 2026 Atlanta Braves.”
That’s a pretty remarkable stat, and shows how impressive the Braves have been in the first month of the season.
The stat that jumps out to me is 0 blown saves, because this Braves team had really struggled in April last year to close games out, but they made welcome additions to the bullpen (Robert Suarez), and it seems to be paying off.
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Will Any Team Challenge Atlanta in the NL East
GettyATLANTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 11: Manager Walt Weiss #22 of the Atlanta Braves looks on prior to the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Truist Park on April 11, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
After the Mets finally won on Wednesday, it is now the Philadelphia Phillies who hold MLB’s longest losing streak (eight), and have a share of baseball’s worst record.
The current second place in the NL East is the Miami Marlins, who hold a 12-13 record. It’s obviously very early still in the season, and you really can’t draw conclusions just yet, but you can certainly notice trends.
And the positive trends for Atlanta is they are beating teams handily (+50 run differential), and they have strong confidence in the eighth and ninth innings to close games out, which is a dangerous combination.
Atlanta is also only going to continue getting healthier as the season progresses.
Have to give a lot of credit to the president of baseball ops, Alex Anthopoulos, because a lot of people (even myself) were crying for him to make more additions before the start of the season, but Atlanta perhaps might be in the best shape of any MLB team at this juncture.
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