The Atlanta Braves open the second half of their season Friday night sitting at 44-45 and four games back of the NL East leading Mets.
Despite losing Ronald Acuña Jr. to a season-ending injury, the fact that the Braves aren't completely out of the division race is giving fans hope the team can go on a run and get back in it.
On Thursday night the Braves made a move for Cubs OF Joc Pederson to fill the right field role left by Acuña's injury.
Despite having hope they can recover, the schedule makers did the Braves no favors post All-Star Break. It's a brutal upcoming schedule that could result in the team falling off the pace.
The Braves have upcoming series against Tampa Bay, San Diego, Philadelphia, New York (Mets), and Milwaukee. If the season ended today, four of those five teams would be in the playoffs (Phillies wouldn't).
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Besides facing a few juggernauts at home to start and end this stretch, the real key games will come on the road against NL East rivals.
The Braves have a four-game series in Philadelphia followed by a five-game series (including a doubleheader) in New York against the Mets.
If the Braves can take at least six or seven of those nine games, they will have a chance to survive this month.
With such a difficult schedule the Braves are likely to fall out of the NL East race. But if they are still standing after the next 18 games, it's possible they can go on a run to set themselves up for a pennant chase.
