By MIKE ROBERTS
The Atlanta Braves have been playing impressive baseball lately, taking three of four from the San Diego Padres before winning two out of three against the Baltimore Orioles. Atlanta is now 7-3 since the All-Star break and 13-9 in July.
At 62-43, the Braves remain in first place in the National League East, holding a six-game lead over the second-place Philadelphia Phillies. They also got some good news, with Ronald Acuña Jr. expected to be activated, ahead of the start of the series with the Mets that begins Monday night..
Here are our awards to the top Braves from the week that was …
Best Hitter: Ozzie Albies
Albies (.260 AVG, .745 OPS, 17 HR, 57 RBI, 1 SB) is a two-time Silver Slugger, started in the All-Star game earlier this month, and showed that potent bat was named an All-Star starter this year, and he showed why this past week. Albies had five hits and two home runs against the Padres before recording two hits and a homer during the Baltimore series. An 0-for-6 day in Sunday’d extra-inning win against the Orioles, and 11 strikeouts in the past seven games, makes Albies’ recent run look worse than it really was. The proof is in a strong .500 slugging percentage over the past seven games.
One of the league’s most feared hitters, Albies is doing his part in keeping the Braves on top of the division this year.
Top Pitcher: Chris Sale
Sale (11-6, 2.19 ERA, 1.05 WHIP) takes this, which shouldn’t be a surprise the way he has pitched this season. During Thursday’s 6-5 win over San Diego, Sale matched a season-high with 11 strikeouts and gave up only three runs and three hits in six innings of work.
If Sale keeps this up, he’ll become just the third pitcher to ever record a sub-2.20 ERA during their age-37 season or later. The others were Roger Clemens (1.87, 42 years old in 2005) and Justin Verlander (1.75, 39 years old in 2022).
Sale is clearly the Braves’ ace, and it will be interesting to see if the team acquires another dominant starter (if one is made available) by the trade deadline to pair with him.
Top Relief Pitcher: Raisel Iglesias
Iglesias (0-2, 2.43 ERA, 1.08 WHIP) is having a phenomenal season with the Braves, and it continued this past week, He scored saves in back-to-back games against San Diego. In Thursday’s performance, his 21st save of the season, he surpassed Hall of Famer John Smoltz for 11th on the Braves’ all-time reliever strikeout list with 281 career strikeouts.
Iglesias, who was named to his first All-Star Game this year, has helped the Braves’ bullpen immensely in 2026.
Biggest Hero: Matt Olson
This one goes to Olson (.266 AVG, .870 OPS, 27 HR, 63 RBI, 2 SB), meaning that four of the Braves’ five 2026 All-Stars won one of our weekly awards, with Drake Baldwin (.277 AVG, .855 OPS, 20 HR, 56 RBI, 2 SB) being the lone exception.
Olson came through on Friday night, blasting a huge three-run homer during the 10th inning, powering Atlanta to a 7-6 victory over the Orioles. Speaking of the 10th inning, he turned a game-saving double play in that inning on Sunday as the Braves defeated Baltimore 3-2. Olson was a solid contributor this past week with six hits and a home run.
Looking Ahead
The Braves are halfway through a very busy stretch of 14 games in 14 days, Next up, the Braves will remain on the road to play a three-game series against the New York Mets, beginning tonight, before returning home for a four-game series against the Washington Nationals, starting on Thursday. Here’s a look at the upcoming schedule, including TV information and probable pitchers:
Monday, 7/27: 7:10 PM, BravesVision/MLB.TV, Martin Perez (ATL) (6-6, 3.38 ERA, 1.20 WHIP) vs. Zac Thornton (NYM) (1-1, 1.93 ERA, 0.86 WHIP)
Tuesday, 7/28: 7:10 PM, BravesVision/MLB.TV, Chris Sale (ATL) (11-6, 2.19 ERA, 1.05 WHIP) vs. Christian Scott (NYM) (3-2, 3.13 ERA, 1.26 WHIP)
Wednesday, 7/29: 1:10 PM, BravesVision/MLB.TV, Grant Holmes (ATL) (6-4, 3.79 ERA, 1.36 WHIP) vs. Sean Manaea (NYM) (2-5, 4.52 ERA, 1.35 WHIP)
Thursday, 7/30: 7:15 PM, ESPN, TBD (WAS) vs. TBD (ATL)
Friday, 7/31: 7:15 PM, BravesVision/MLB TV, TBD (WAS) vs. TBD (ATL)
Saturday, 8/1: 7:15 PM, BravesVision/MLB.TV, TBD (WAS) vs. TBD (ATL)
Sunday, 8/2: 1:35 PM, BravesVision/MLB.TV, TBD (WAS) vs. TBD (ATL)