Beasts of NL East: Braves beat Phils for 4th straight title

ATLANTA (AP) — Ian Anderson turned in another dominant pitching performance, Jorge Soler and Austin Riley homered, and the Atlanta Braves clinched their fourth straight NL East title by completing a sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies with a 5-3 victory Thursday night.

After an up-and-down season marred by injuries and legal issues but bolstered by a flurry of moves at the trade deadline, the Braves won their 21st division title since moving from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966.

They'll face their former city in the playoffs when they open the best-of-five Division Series at the NL Central champion Brewers on Oct. 8.

Atlanta's very first hitter got things rolling in the division-clinching triumph. Soler hit the first leadoff homer of his career, going deep for the 26th time this season on a 3-2 pitch from Kyle Gibson (4-6).

Riley, bolstering his improbable MVP candidacy, added to the lead with his 33rd homer in the fourth. He drove in another run with a broken-bat single in the fifth to extend the lead to 5-0.

That was more than enough for Anderson (9-5), who appears to be rounding into the sort of form he showed during the 2020 postseason as a rookie.

Anderson pitched six scoreless innings of one-hit ball before yielding a two-run homer to Andrew McCutchen in the seventh. A.J. Minter, Luke Jackson and Will Smith worked the final three innings, with Smith earning his 37th save.

The Braves endured plenty of obstacles on their way to another division title.

Star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. was lost to a season-ending knee injury, while former ace Mike Soroka didn't make an expected comeback after tearing his Achilles tendon for the second time.

In addition, slugging outfielder Marcell Ozuna — the pot-stirring leader of the Braves' run to Game 7 of last year's NL...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Beasts-of-NL-East-Braves-beat-Phils-for-4th-16500880.php