The Atlanta Braves are NL East champions again. On Sunday, September 20, they closed out a 4-2 win over the Houston Astros at Daikin Park, swept the three-game series, and claimed their seventh division title in nine seasons.
Atlanta Braves Win NL East Title Again
Mike Yastrzemski supplied the blow that decided it. After Ozzie Albies tied the game with an RBI single in a four-run sixth, Yastrzemski turned on a 1-2 fastball from Bryan King and drove it 373 feet to right-center for a three-run homer. Atlanta led 4-1 and never looked back.
Jose Altuve had given Houston a 1-0 lead with a homer in the fourth. Yainer Diaz added a solo shot in the eighth. The Astros left the bases loaded in the first and fifth, and Dylan Dodd struck out the side in the ninth for the save. The celebration followed immediately: hugs on the field, championship hats and T-shirts, and a team photo.
The Braves finished the day at 92-64. Philadelphia sat six games back at 86-70. Atlanta had already locked up a playoff berth on Friday; the clubhouse stayed relatively quiet then because the division title was the prize they wanted.
This one carries extra weight. Last year the Braves finished 76-86 and missed the postseason, snapping a seven-year playoff streak that included six straight NL East titles from 2018 to 2023. First-year manager Walt Weiss took over after Brian Snitker moved into an advisory role. Preseason forecasts were not kind. The roster still had to be patched together through injuries and midseason moves. They responded by taking first place on April 8 and holding it the rest of the way.
“This is what it’s all about,” Yastrzemski said. “It’s so hard to win baseball games in the big leagues because everybody is so good. It’s obviously not the end goal, but these are the times that you need to celebrate because it’s hard to get here.”
Weiss pointed to belief and competitiveness. “Coming off a tough year, I think a lot of it was getting them to believe that they were still really good.”
Starter Martín Pérez, a non-roster invitee who was designated for assignment in April, set the tone by stranding a bases-loaded jam in the first. Depth pieces such as Victor Mederos and Dodd did the rest. Yastrzemski, acquired during the season, homered three times on the Houston trip.
The title is Atlanta’s 24th division championship, tying the Dodgers for the most since divisions began in 1969. The Braves have now won the NL East 19 times in 32 seasons. With six games left, they hold the National League’s third-best record and are positioned as the No. 3 seed. That likely means a Wild Card Series at Truist Park against San Diego, Chicago, or Philadelphia. A first-round bye is still mathematically possible but would require catching Milwaukee or Los Angeles.
Pérez captured the mood afterward: “We’ve been fighting all year to get to this moment with this group of good guys and good coaches. Everything is good. And we’re not done yet.”
The champagne that sat unused after Friday’s clincher finally came out. For a franchise that has made October a habit, the work of getting back there after a lost season is complete. The next chapter starts in six days.
