Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves Have Fans Dreaming of WS Title After Clinching NL East

The Atlanta Braves' run of dominance in the National League East continued in 2023.

Atlanta clinched its sixth consecutive division crown with a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. The Braves improved to 96-50 on the year and a full 17 games ahead of the second-place Phillies.

Social media had plenty of reactions to another division title for the World Series contenders:

Spencer Strider has anchored the Braves' pitching staff throughout the season, so it was fitting that he was on the mound to start Wednesday's clincher. He allowed a single earned run and four hits while striking out nine in seven innings of dominant work.

It was far from a solo effort, as MVP contender Ronald Acuña Jr. collected three hits and Austin Riley launched his 35th home run of the season. Kirby Yates locked down the save in the ninth after Brad Hand pitched a scoreless eighth.

The question now is how far the Braves will advance in the postseason.

While the organization was widely known for its dominance in the regular season and then failure to take home the World Series title in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Braves of the 2020s are attempting to change that narrative.

After all, they defeated the Houston Astros in the Fall Classic in 2021 and could make it two championships in three years if they take home the crown this season.

That stands in stark contrast to the previous era from the franchise, which won one World Series during 14 playoff appearances from 1991 to 2005. The Braves lost the World Series four times in that span (1991, 1992, 1996 and 1999).

With players like Acuña, Riley and Matt Olson, this year's team has the talent to compete for a championship.

Atlanta will surely celebrate the division title, but it has bigger goals.