By MIKE ROBERTS
It was a great regular season for the Atlanta Braves, who finished with a 94-68 record and won the National League East. The Braves now head to the playoffs, looking to win their first World Series championship since 2021.
Atlanta locked up the National League’s No. 3 seed and will host the No. 6 seed Philadelphia Phillies (88-74) in a best-of-three National League Wild Card Series. Game 1 is scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday, with Game 2 at 2 p.m. Wednesday and a decisive Game 3, if necessary, at 2 p.m. Thursday.
If Atlanta wins the series, it will advance to the NL divisional round and play the No. 2 seed Los Angeles Dodgers in a best-of-five series. Los Angeles will have home field.
With that, it’s time for a 2026 Braves Playoff Preview!
Recent History Between the Braves and Phillies
The two NL East rivals met in four series this season, with the Braves winning nine of the 13 contests. Atlanta managed to handle business mainly due to the strength of dominant pitching against the Phillies’ bats.
The Braves and Phillies are also no strangers to each other in the playoffs over the last few years. Philadelphia ended Atlanta’s season a couple of times, beating the Braves in both the 2022 and 2023 NLDS.
Breaking Down the Matchup
The Braves have the edge when it comes to batting average. They ranked 10th in the league with a .247 average while Philadelphia ranked 22nd (.239). Atlanta is better at smacking home runs as it ranks seventh in the majors with 203 homers while the Phillies are 16th with 180.
The Phillies are the better team when it comes to base running, though. They rank 15th in MLB with 104 stolen bases while Atlanta is 23rd with 83 steals.
In terms of ERA, the Braves have the upper hand, ranking fifth (3.62) with the Phillies 11th (4.05). Chris Sale (14-9, 2.16 ERA, 0.98 WHIP) is Atlanta’s top pitcher and slated to start Game 1 for the Braves against Jesus Luzardo (14-5, 2.86 ERA, 1.07 WHIP) while Cristopher Sanchez (18-7, 2.91 ERA, 1.20 WHIP) is the ace for Philadelphia. Neither team has set its pitching matchup beyond Game 1.
The Braves possess a bunch of talented hitters like Ronald Acuña Jr. (.255 AVG, .756 OPS, 20 HR, 55 RBI, 21 SB), Matt Olson, and Michael Harris II. The Phillies are led by Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, who finished the season tied with the Chicago Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong for the major league home run lead with 45 apiece.
Prediction
Major League Baseball adopted the current playoff format in 2022, and there have been several times a No. 6 seed has upset a No. 3 on the road. One of the most notable upsets came in 2023 when the Arizona Diamondbacks knocked off the Milwaukee Brewers in two straight games en route to an eventual NL pennant and World Series appearance.
So sure, Philly can definitely beat the Braves, but in this case, the Braves are just the better team.
Sale has been sharp all season but also against Philadelphia; in four starts, he’s got a 2.08 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP. Sale pitched at least six innings and struck out at least six batters in each of those games and allowed two or fewer runs in three of them. And now he’ll be fresh after the Braves gave him rest down the stretch of the season.
Against left-handed starters, excluding openers, the Phillies finished with a .300 on-base percentage and a .680 OPS this year. They went 21-26 in those contests. Look for Sale to give them problems once again. Philadelphia also limped into the playoffs, leading Arizona for the final wild card spot by four games with five left to play, and then losing four straight by a combined score of 23-3. The Phils had to win Game 162 to secure their spot.
Look for the Braves to start making travel plans for Los Angeles by the weekend.