Martin Pérez took the ball for the afternoon Atlanta wrapped up another National League East title, a fitting turn for a club that spent much of the year hearing it was not supposed to be here. The Braves beat the Astros, 4-2, at Daikin Park on Sunday, securing their seventh division championship in nine seasons.
Pérez had his own long road to the clincher. He entered camp as a non-roster invitee, was designated for assignment on April 12, and was hardly a name anyone would have penciled into a division-deciding start. But he gave Atlanta the chance it needed before the bullpen and Mike Yastrzemski finished the job.
Yastrzemski delivers the big swing
With the game tight in the sixth inning, Yastrzemski broke it open with a three-run homer that stood as the decisive hit. The veteran outfielder has been one of the quieter contributors to Atlanta’s late push, and he went deep three times during the 4-2 road trip that ended with the division celebration in Houston.
His homer gave the Braves enough breathing room after Pérez’s outing had reached a difficult fifth-inning crossroads.
Mederos escapes the fifth
Victor Mederos entered with one out and the bases loaded, inheriting the kind of situation that can turn a clinching afternoon sideways in a hurry. Instead, the right-hander struck out José Altuve and got Yainer Díaz to ground out, ending Houston’s threat without allowing the tying run to score.
Mederos, 25, had spent nearly all of the first three months of the season at Triple-A and came into the year with only 12 Major League appearances on his résumé. He has nevertheless grown into an important bullpen option during the second half, and his escape against the Astros was another reminder of how many unexpected pieces helped Atlanta reach October.
Manager Walt Weiss had reminded his clubhouse that preseason forecasts did not place much faith in the Braves. That message carried some extra weight as Pérez, Mederos and Yastrzemski played central roles in the win that brought home the division flag.
Atlanta turns toward October
The clinch allows the Braves to use their final six regular-season games with the postseason in view. Atlanta currently holds the National League’s No. 3 seed, with the Padres, Cubs and division rival Phillies among the possible opponents in the Wild Card Series.
For now, though, the Braves can enjoy a road clubhouse celebration built around a familiar achievement—and a few unlikely heroes who were not expected to be at the center of it.
