Acuña, Albies, and Baldwin go deep as the Braves close in on the NL East

With a 4.5-game lead in the NL East and the season tiebreaker in hand over the Phillies entering play yesterday, every win for the Braves and loss for their division rivals — with just 11 games to play — is worth celebrating. And that’s especially true when both happen on the same day.

Martin Perez got the ball on Tuesday night for Atlanta at Wrigley Field, and the game didn’t exactly get off to the most encouraging start. The Cubs began the scoring in the second and then added two more in the fourth, thanks to some shoddy defense from Mauricio Dubon. But Perez settled in after that and finished six innings without allowing any more damage — another strong outing for the veteran, who even shaved his ERA down a smidge to 3.07 on the season.

Offensively, there weren’t many signs of life for much of the evening, but everything changed in the sixth when Ronald Acuña Jr. lifted one over the left-field wall to put two runs on the board. His best friend, Ozzie Albies, then played a little game of copycat with a go-ahead two-run moonshot in the seventh. And for insurance, Drake Baldwin blasted a two-run homer in the ninth to make life much easier on Raisel Iglesias, who shut the door for his 33rd save of the season.

Meanwhile, the pesky Nationals topped the Phillies in Washington thanks to a couple of late home runs of their own, giving the Braves a 5.5-game lead in the NL East with 10 games the rest of the way. Which, if you’re counting at home, means Atlanta’s magic number to win the division is down to five.

Even more good news? With the Diamondbacks losing in extras to the Marlins late last night, the Braves’ magic number to clinch a spot in the postseason is now down to just two. The Braves will be back in the playoffs after a one-year hiatus, and as long as they avoid an epic collapse within the division, postseason baseball is returning to Truist Park.

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(Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire)