A lot going the right way for first-place Braves

PHILADELPHIA — Not too much went right for the Braves in 2025. From a seven-game losing streak out of the gate, to injury after injury, to the inability, more often than not, to get the clutch hit or make the key pitch or make the right play, ‘25 was a lost campaign in many ways.

Three weeks into 2026, however, everything feels so much different. The Braves (14-7) have a five-game lead in the NL East already, they haven’t lost a series and the ball has undoubtedly been bouncing their way.

“Maybe we got some rollover, some rollover minutes a little bit,” Braves first baseman Matt Olson chuckled in the visitor’s clubhouse Saturday night after a 3-1 win over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. “Baseball’s funny sometimes. We didn’t get anything going against (Phillies starter Cristopher) Sánchez today, ball takes a bad hop on (Edmundo) Sosa at second. Dubón drops one in right in front of the outfielder. That’s baseball sometimes.”

Olson was referencing Saturday’s third inning, in which a two-out single by Drake Baldwin turned something into nothing. Ozzie Albies then reached on Sosa’s error fielding a grounder at second and then Olson walked to load the bases.

Sánchez bounced off the mound to try to field Austin Riley’s swinging bunt up the third-base line — but Sánchez couldn’t grip the ball in his haste to try to throw to first. Funny enough, Phillies pitchers spent Saturday before the game doing pitchers fielding practice, but Sánchez didn’t participate because he was that day’s starter.

Dubón came up and popped a ball 234 feet behind the bag at second, a perfectly placed two-run hit into center field.

It’s just the way things are going these days for these Braves.

“We caught a break that inning, but the beauty of it is we capitalized. It just seemed like a year ago, that didn’t happen,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “We get an extra out, we capitalize. We’re putting the ball in play. We didn’t hit the ball all that hard that inning, but we put the ball in play, kept the line moving.

“We’ve talked a lot about that and being more multidimensional, not just being reliant on the home run. I think this team is doing that. We’ve got other ways to score.”

Weiss has seemingly pushed all the right buttons, too, like Saturday when Dylan Lee pitched a scoreless eighth and Robert Suarez picked up the save with a 1-2-3 ninth. Suarez, an All-Star closer in his own right, pitched the final inning because Raisel Iglesias had a sore shoulder, Weiss said.

And Weiss hasn’t been beholden to any one lineup, either.

Outside of Ronald Acuña Jr. at the top and Baldwin hitting second, hitters 3-9 in the order have been mixed-and-matched according to that day’s opposing pitcher. Such was the case Saturday when Weiss gave center fielder Michael Harris II (who has terrible career numbers against Sánchez) the day off and started Eli White in center, Jorge Mateo at shortstop and Jonah Heim at catcher.

Atlanta’s depth and versatility have been a marvel to watch through 21 games.

“It’s a lot of fun to be a part of,” said Heim, who doubled in the sixth inning Saturday. “The lineup is super deep, and our pitching staff has been unbelievable. So when you put those two recipes together, it makes for a fun year.

“We always keep it light in here, we’re always having a good time, but when the game starts, everybody locks in.”

The Braves are by no means celebrating their good fortune or good positioning in the standings with 141 games still to be played. But the good vibes beat the alternative, and the majority of the players in the clubhouse endured the harshness of that alternative a year ago.

Now the challenge is maintaining the same level of play the Braves have showcased over the next several months.