Braves drop to 4.5 games behind Mets in NL East

Wednesday was not a great day for the Braves. Really, they haven’t had many good ones lately unless the Pirates were in town.

The Braves lost to the Nationals, 5-3, at Truist Park. It was their second consecutive loss to the National League East’s last-place team. The Braves entered Thursday trying to salvage a four-game split.

Making matters worse, the Mets won in Arizona on Wednesday, building further separation atop the NL East. The Mets lead the division by 4-1/2 games over the Phillies (26-29) and Braves (25-28). It’s the largest divisional deficit the Braves have had this season (the team previously trailed by four games on two separate dates). The Braves haven’t led the division at any point this season and they haven’t yet been better than .500.

The Mets open a four-game series in San Diego on Thursday. The Padres, one of baseball’s most talented teams, were just swept by the red-hot Cubs. The Braves, meanwhile, will finish with the Nationals Thursday before hosting the Dodgers for three games. It will obviously be challenging for the Braves, who were eliminated by the Dodgers in the seven-game National League Championship Series last October.

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