5 things to know about Braves’ season-best 22 games over .500

Atlanta Braves' Ronald Acuna Jr. heads home hitting his 34th home run of the season during the fourth inning against the New York Mets to take a 4-1 lead with the solo shot in a MLB baseball game on Tuesday, August 13, 2019, in Atlanta.   Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

Credit: ccompton@ajc.com

Credit: ccompton@ajc.com

Atlanta Braves' Ronald Acuna Jr. heads home hitting his 34th home run of the season during the fourth inning against the New York Mets to take a 4-1 lead with the solo shot in a MLB baseball game on Tuesday, August 13, 2019, in Atlanta. Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

A quick look at the Braves this week:

By the numbers 

22

With the Braves victory over the Mets Wednesday, they moved to a season-high 22 games over .500 with a 72-50 record. It's the team's high-water mark over the last six years. The last time the Braves were 22 games or better over .500 was 2013, when they finished the season 96-66. The Braves recorded their 70th win, in 120 games, on Sunday. It was the fastest the team had reached the 70-win mark since 2013, when they did so in 115 games.

100

Number of runs Ronald Acuna has scored this season (through Wednesday), second-most in the majors, after he crossed the plate in the first inning of Tuesday's win over the Mets.

Notable

Freddie Freeman has a chance to drive in 130 runs this season. Only four Braves in the modern era have reached 130 RBI in a season: Eddie Mathews (135), Hank Aaron (132 and 130), Gary Sheffield (132) and Wally Berger (130).

The Braves have won only six times in 17 games following an off day, a .353 winning percentage.

Quotable

"What he's meant for this club, the big hits, the consistency, the improvement in his game. I was thinking about that today. I went and looked at his stats and he's right there with everybody on everything. I was thinking, 'Shoot. This kid's got to be right there in this MVP voting.' "

Brian Snitker, on Ronald Acuna

"As a young GM, I was pretty militant with innings and things like that, and it didn't work. Even when I was in L.A, obviously they're as good an organization as you can find, we were very cautious with Julio Urias, and he still got hurt. You can go through a lot of examples. We've talked to both of them about being open and communicating with us. I think Snit's done a good job when he's been able to save some bullets. We don't skip our fifth starter. We take advantage of the off days, and we watch them start-to-start." 

Alex Anthopoulos, on limiting innings of Max Fried and Mike Soroka

Look ahead

The Braves wrap up a three-game series against the Dodgers at home on Sunday. After a day off on Monday, they conclude their nine-game homestand with three games against the Marlins. The week concludes with a trip to New York for a three-game rematch against the Mets.