Braves magic number: What do the Atlanta Braves need to win the NL East?

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves are seeking their sixth straight National League East title.

On Sunday, the Braves became the first team to clinch a spot in the playoffs. Now, the team is waiting to see where it will finish the season.

As of right now, the Braves are currently at the top of the NL East standings by 15.0 games over the Philadelphia Phillies. For the No. 1 league seed, the Braves are up six games over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

So where does their “magic number” to clinch the division stand? Right now, the Braves’ magic number to clinch the division is down to 6 after their win over the Pirates and the Phillies’ loss to the Marlins.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Any combination of Braves victories and Phillies losses that equals the magic number will result in the NL East Division title for the Braves.

To calculate the magic number, take the number of games remaining on the leading team’s schedule, add the number one, and subtract the number of games the first-place team leads by in the loss column.

Each time the Braves win, that reduces the magic number by one. Each time the Phillies lose, that also reduces the magic number by one.

The Braves and Phillies play each other Sept. 11-13 in Atlanta and Sept. 18-20 in Philadelphia.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

©2023 Cox Media Group