Braves’ Brian Snitker issues warning to Phillies about division race
The Phillies are on track to win the NL East for the first time since 2011, but not everyone is penciling them in as division champs.
The Philadelphia Phillies have been in first place in the NL East since May 3 after a 4-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants and an Atlanta Braves’ 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ever since then, the Fightins have been one of the top teams in baseball.
Braves’ Brian Snitker issues warning to Phillies about division race
Braves’ manager Brian Snitker has his eyes set to yet another NL East title in 2024 rather than a Wild Card spot.
"I'm not planning on doing the wild card series. We're planning on winning the East,” Snitker said, per The Athletic’s David O’Brien.
The Phillies hold a 7.0-game lead over the Braves with about a month to go until the All-Star break.
The Braves are without arguably their two best players for the season both of whom are two of the best at their positions in outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. and starting pitcher Spencer Strider. This has been a big blow for one the league’s best teams since 2018.
Snitker’s squad owns a 41-31 record and holds the top NL wild card spot even without Acuña and Strider. The Phillies would have to go into quite a slump for the Braves to catch up in the division race and take over first place.
The Braves’ skipper should be careful what he wishes for come postseason time.
The Phillies made the 2022 playoffs as a Wild Card team defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in two games and setting up a divisional matchup against the NL East champion Braves in the NLDS. The Phillies went on to win the series 3-1 and made it to the World Series before ultimately coming up short to the Houston Astros.
Fast forward to the 2023 playoffs, and once again the Phillies made it as a Wild Card team while the Braves won the NL East. The Phillies swept the Miami Marlins in two games setting up a second-straight matchup against the Braves in the NLDS. Just like 2022, the Phillies went on to win the series 3-1 before falling one game short of another World Series appearance.
Winning the division and having to potentially face the Phillies as a Wild Card team might not be the best outcome for Snitker and Braves fans.
Bring on Red October!
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