After a one-year absence, the Atlanta Braves are returning to October.
The Braves clinched their spot in the 2026 playoffs Friday with a 6-2 win over the Houston Astros. It's the team's eighth postseason berth in the last nine years, continuing the franchise's longest run of success since its 1990s dynasty.
Atlanta snapped its seven-year streak of playoff appearances last year when the team slumped to a 76-86 record amid a litany of injury issues. Longtime manager Brian Snitker retired after the season and was replaced by bench coach Walt Weiss.
That downturn proved to be an anomaly, as Friday's win secured the Braves' fifth 90-win season in the last decade and first since they won 104 games in 2023. Although they've again struggled with injuries, most notably to several of their important pitchers, the Braves slugged their way back into contention with a powerful offense led by All-Stars Drake Baldwin and Matt Olson, as well as former NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr.
It was Acuña who led the way for Atlanta on Friday night. The 28-year-old crushed what turned out to be the game-winning homer in the seventh inning, then made a diving catch in the eighth to snuff out a late Astros rally.
Houston has a problem and his name is Ronald Acuna Jr. If this 4-2 score holds, Acuna will have both the game-winning homer and game-saving catch pic.twitter.com/gnabJ22Wq7
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) September 19, 2026
Olson extended the lead with his 40th homer in the top of the ninth inning. He became the fifth player to produce multiple 40-homer seasons in a Braves uniform, joining a list that includes Acuña, plus Hall of Famers Henry Aaron, Eddie Mathews, and Andruw Jones.
Next up for the Braves is securing an NL East title and, if they fail to secure a top-two seed, home-field advantage in the best-of-three wild-card series. Atlanta's win, combined with the second-place Philadelphia Phillies' loss, lowered the Braves' magic number to clinch the division to three.
