The Atlanta Braves should look back fondly on all they accomplished during their unforgettable 14-game winning streak.
All good things come to an end, but what the Atlanta Braves did during their season-changing 14-game winning streak was nothing short of incredible. So incredible, in fact, that Braves pitching coach Rick Kranitz couldn’t put down donuts in fear of breaking the historic win streak.
It was only fitting that the Braves would lose a 1-0 shutout on Friday to a team that was riding a 10-game skid of their own in the Chicago Cubs. Atlanta went from being a below .500 team to firmly in the mix to not only get into the postseason, but realistically take what is rightfully theirs from the hated New York Mets: a fifth straight National League East division crown. Good times!
Here are three stats that perhaps best encapsulate what the Braves did on their beautiful ride.
Atlanta Braves: 3 stats from the 14-game winning streak that made it impressive
3. Braves hit an MLB-best 35 homers during their winning streak (June 1-15)
You better believe it! The Braves dug the long ball throughout their 14-game winning streak. They hit an MLB-best 35 dingers during the first half of June. Although they could not get a run across in Friday’s shutout loss to the Cubs, Atlanta had more homers than the Los Angeles Angels (12), the Milwaukee Brewers (11), the Cleveland Guardians (7) and the Detroit Tigers (2) did combined!
2. Longest winning streak by defending World Series champs since 1954 Yankees
Atlanta may still be one of the best teams in baseball, but the Braves accomplished something that had not happened in pretty much a lifetime. The last time a defending World Series champion strung together this many wins in a row, the New York Yankees were in the midst of their pinnacle as a franchise. 1954 is a very, very long time ago. This suggests Atlanta is going to be here to stay.
1. Braves went from 10.5 games back of the Mets to 5.5 in merely half a month
Despite dropping a game in the NL East standings on Friday, the Braves were able to pick up five games on the Mets in the divisional race over the course of half a month. New York should be a playoff team as well, but the Braves are not going away quietly. The Mets could still go on to win the division, but there are so many head-to-head games for this thing to be decided in mid-June.
Ultimately, this 14-game winning streak was almost as fun as the Braves’ recent World Series run. It had been a challenging first two months of the year for Atlanta, but the team has finally gotten back to playing their brand of Braves baseball we’ve grown accustomed to. Who knows what the future has in store for this team, but this 14-game winning streak was an absolute blast to watch.
I flew to Orlando, hung out with absolutely tremendous FanSided people, flew home to Atlanta, got COVID and beat COVID before this absolute wagon of an MLB team lost a freaking game, y’all!