The Atlanta Braves have baseball's best record at 87-45 -- and with 20 more wins, they will set a new franchise record for victories in one season. But the Braves have much bigger aspirations -- like winning the World Series for the second time in three years.
One reason Atlanta fans can dream of another championship this season is that the Braves' hitters are in the final stretch of a dominant campaign. Atlanta leads Major League Baseball in a number of offensive categories, and its plus-235 run differential is one indicator as to how comprehensively the Braves have outplayed the opposition.
Seven players with over 20 home runs
The Braves have hit a franchise-record 250 home runs this season, tops in the National League and in MLB. They have seven hitters -- Eddie Rosario, Sean Murphy, Ozzie Albies, Ronald Acuña Jr., Marcell Ozuna, Austin Riley, and Matt Olson -- with more than 20 home runs. Olson leads the pack with 43 dingers, the highest total in the NL.
Acuña is in the midst of an historic season, one that is certain to see him become the first player in MLB history to hit 30 home runs and steal 60 bases in the same campaign. This has brought him even more popularity, as fans in Denver this week entered the field of play and made physical contact with him during a game against the Colorado Rockies.
Showdown looming with Los Angeles
The Braves and Dodgers this weekend commence a four-game series in Los Angeles, in a potential preview of this season's National League Championship Series.
The series, beginning Thursday night, features three of the National League's MVP candidates, as well as a potential Cy Young Award winner on the mound. Atlanta's Acuña is firmly in the MVP mix, while right-handed pitcher Spencer Strider leads baseball in wins and strikeouts, putting him on course for the NL Cy Young.
The Dodgers will trot out two MVP-caliber hitters of their own in Mookie Betts and former Atlanta star Freddie Freeman, who is hitting at a .338 clip this season and leads the Majors in hits and doubles.
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