The Braves clinched the No. 2 seed in the National League playoffs Friday night and scratched one familiar foe off their list of potential opening-round opponents: the Miami Marlins.
That’s because the Braves, as the No. 2 seed, will open against the No. 7 seed, and the Marlins will be no lower than the No. 6 seed after clinching second place in the NL East on Friday. (In this season’s expanded playoffs, the division champs are the top three seeds, the second-place teams are the Nos. 4-6 seeds, and the wild-card teams are the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds.)
The playoff berth is the Marlins' first in 17 years. They lost an NL-worst 105 games last season, were forecast to finish last in the East this season and had 18 players test positive for COVID-19 in the first week of the season. But they clinched second place in the division Friday with a win over the New York Yankees and a Philadelphia loss.
So who’ll be the No. 7 seed and the Braves' opponent in a best-of-three wild-card series at Truist Park beginning Wednesday?
Here’s an update through Friday’s games:
>> Based on the current standings and records, the No. 7 seed (and the Braves' opponent) would be … the Cincinnati Reds, who have won 10 of their past 12 games. But, while the Reds (30-28) have clinched a playoff berth, their seeding could move up or down from No. 7 in the final two days of the regular season. The Reds are mere percentage points behind the second-place St. Louis Cardinals in the Central Division.
>> In addition to the Reds, the Braves' other possible first-round opponents are the Cardinals (29-27) if they fall out of second place in the Central, the San Francisco Giants (29-29), the Philadelphia Phillies (28-30) and the Milwaukee Brewers (28-30). Based on the standings through Friday, the Phillies and Brewers wouldn’t make the playoffs, but they haven’t been eliminated yet. Here are the games Saturday and Sunday that can influence the Braves' first-round matchup: Reds at Minnesota, Brewers at Cardinals, Giants vs. San Diego and Phillies at Tampa Bay.
