Sep 20, 2022; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson (7) reacts after hitting a home run against the Washington Nationals during the eighth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
With the Braves win over the Nationals and the Brewers falling to the Mets on Tuesday night, Atlanta clinched their playoff berth and fans were hyped.
At this point in the season, it was merely a formality that the Atlanta Braves would be in the 2022 MLB Playoffs. But with their magic number at 2 entering Tuesday night’s game against the Washington Nationals, they were hoping that they could punch that ticket sooner rather than later.
The Braves did their part. On the back of home runs from Travis D’Arnaud and Dansby Swanson — and not without some unnecessary drama in the ninth inning courtesy of Kenley Jansen — Atlanta picked up a 3-2 win over Washington. But at the same time that was happening, Francisco Lindor crushed a grand slam for the Mets that pushed them ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers and ultimately proved to be the go-ahead play.
And with that, the Braves were able to clinch their spot in the playoffs. The reigning World Series champs will be in October ready to defend the crown.
Braves clinch playoff berth: Best memes and tweets from fans
Fans were clearly amped up after punching their ticket to the postseason, though there was definitely an air of there still being more that this team can still accomplish.
But perhaps the best reaction came from the official Braves account.
And that’s the general sentiment around this team. Clinching the playoff berth for the fifth consecutive season is great. But this team and the fanbase want to win the division. They want to win the pennant. They want to go back-to-back in winning World Series rings.
While it remains to be seen if this team will catch the Mets in the NL East race, they are still just one game back and could very well do so, particularly with a three-game set against New York still looming. More importantly, though, this team looks better than even last year’s squad and could be ready to make a series run at winning the Fall Classic.