of Atlanta Braves held a subdued celebration when they reached the playoffs Friday night after losing last season.
The first place Braves beat Houston Astros 6-2 to punch their ticket to the postseason for the eighth time in nine years. They secured at least one National League wild card and cut their magic number to three for winning the NL East.
Afterwards, there wasn’t a wild party, but a simple bubbly toast before they started looking ahead.
“We have our eyes on bigger and better things,” the outfielder Michael Harris II said. “We’re trying to win the East. So we’ve got to go out there and do what we know we can do and hopefully we can celebrate a lot about it.”
First-year manager Walt Weiss echoed the sentiment shared by Harris.
“Everything you get in this league is earned,” Weiss said. “I’ve said it a few times this year, but what a great group, what they’ve overcome this year, and hopefully there will be bigger celebrations.”
Harris, Ronald Acuna Jr. AND Matt Olson each hit a two-run homer to help the Braves bounce back from two of three games Chicago Cubs this week.
Atlanta is trying to hold back Philadelphia Phillies for the NL East title and could wrap up the division crown as soon as Sunday. Atlanta’s win Friday night coupled with Philadelphia’s 6-3 loss to Mets gave the Braves a five-game lead over the Phillies with eight to play.
Weiss was asked about helping the team return to the playoffs in his first season as manager after spending eight seasons as Brian Snitker’s bench coach.
“I always say it’s always about the players,” Weiss said. “They’re the ones that perform out there. We have a good staff. When you get things down, it’s an organizational effort. … It takes everybody and we have a really good group.”
If the Braves take the division, it will be their seventh NL East championship in nine years.
Atlanta’s return to the playoffs comes after a disappointing 2025 season in which the team went 76-86 and finished fourth in the division, snapping a streak of seven straight playoff appearances that included six straight NL East titles from 2018-23. This run was highlighted by defeating the Astros to win the 2021 World Series.
Friday’s victory gave the Braves 90 wins, marking the fifth time in the last eight full seasons they have reached the mark. The only teams with more 90-win seasons in that stretch are Dodgers with eight and Breweries AND Yankees with six each.
Reporting by the Associated Press.
