HOUSTON (AP) — The Atlanta Braves clinched their seventh NL East championship in nine years on Sunday with a 4-2 win over the Astros, and celebrated with hugs and a team photo in championship hats and T-shirts.
Mike Yastrzemski hit a three-run homer during a four-run sixth inning to give the Braves the lead. After Dylan Dodd struck out the side in the ninth to clinch the title, the team ran onto the field to celebrate.
“This is what it’s all about,” Yastrzemski said of the celebration. “It’s so hard to win baseball games in general in the big leagues because everybody is so good. It’s obviously not the end goal, but these are the times that you need to celebrate because it’s hard to get here."
Under first-year manager Walt Weiss, the Braves have rebounded after missing the playoffs last season with a disappointing 76-86 record and fourth-place finish in the division, snapping a streak of seven straight playoff appearances that included six consecutive NL East titles from 2018-23.
That run was highlighted by beating the Astros to win the 2021 World Series.
“I told these guys winning the division is really tough,” Weiss said. “I know it’s the first step, but it takes six months to do it. It takes everybody, and we used everybody. Virtually everyone that got an opportunity stepped up and helped us win games this year. Special group in that way. Very close group."
Atlanta has won 24 division titles, tying the Dodgers for the most since the inception of the divisional format in 1969. Atlanta has won the NL East 19 times in 32 seasons.
“Just felt like they responded well to certain messages,” Weiss said. “I thought the way they competed was high-level stuff. I felt like the makeup of this team was really good. Coming off a tough year, I think a lot of it was getting them to believe that they were still really good.”
The Braves clinched a postseason berth on Friday night with a 6-2 win over the Astros but had a subdued celebration, with the team having a simple toast with bubbly as their focus was on the NL East crown.
The celebration on Sunday was less subdued with players dousing each other in beer and sparkling wine and cigar smoke in the air in the visitors' clubhouse.
“This is first step of what we want to accomplish,” Mauricio Dubón said. “We are trying to enjoy this as much as we can. It’s a lot of hard work. It’s six months of preparation. I think Walt did a great job of bringing everybody together.”
Atlanta has the third-best record in the NL at 92-64. The top two teams in the league get a first-round bye in the playoffs.
The Braves have won at least 90 games in five of the last eight seasons. The only teams with more 90-win seasons over that span are the Dodgers, who have eight, and the Yankees, with six.
“You just want to get in, and then you take your best shot,” Weiss said. “I feel like this series (versus Houston) we really took it to a different level. Now, we have to keep our foot on the gas. … You can’t ever let your guard down in this league because the game will embarrass you.”
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