Breaking Down How the Atlanta Braves' Remaining Schedule Compares to Competitors

The Atlanta Braves currently find themselves in the midst of a good old fashioned playoff chase. If I were a better linguist, I would have come up with some clever use of "the hunt for red October" right here.

As of the evening of September 7, with Atlanta having just 19 games remaining in the regular season, the Braves sit a distant seven games back of the NL East-leading Washington Nationals. Although not impossible to overcome, the more realistic goal would be to grab a hold of one of the two NL wild-card spots this postseason.

The first of those spots currently belongs to the San Francisco Giants, who, heading into their Sunday night game, had a 96.1 percent chance of making the playoffs according to ESPN's playoff predictor. The Giants sat a full four games up in the loss column on any of the other wild-card contenders.

Which is where Atlanta comes in.

That final playoff spot could be a battle down to the final day of the season as Atlanta, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh are all within a half game of each other in the standings.

To get a better gauge of which team has the advantage in the season's final weeks, it is necessary to examine each of their remaining schedules and see what type of fight their opponents will put up.

The Braves and Brewers currently have identical 74-69 records. However, to get here, Atlanta has won six of 11 while Milwaukee has lost 10 of its last 11 ballgames. The Brewers are in a complete tailspin. Regardless of the specifics of each team's remaining schedule, this late-season collapse does not bode well for the Brew Crew.

Milwaukee Brewers

With six series remaining, Milwaukee faces the Marlins, Reds and Cubs at home, and the Cardinals, Pirates and Reds on the road to finish out the season.

This is not an easy slate by any means.

St. Louis has been crushing Milwaukee in recent weeks to begin with. Facing Pittsburgh on the road for three games is a tough task as well. While the Cubs and Reds have had down years, facing division opponents who want nothing more than to knock the Brewers out of the playoff chase could be the last straw.

Atlanta Braves

Meanwhile, the Braves also have a series against Pittsburgh before the year is out, but the rest of their schedule looks much more friendly.

They get to host Pittsburgh, as opposed to playing the Pirates on the road; they get three games at Texas against the worst team in baseball; and while Washington is on tap for six more contests before October arrives, the situation feels like it could play into Atlanta's hands.

The Nationals are supposed to win the NL East at this point. A series loss to the Braves could creep doubt into the minds of the players.

This is not a very experienced and challenged roster just yet. Perhaps it's just the immediacy of the Brewers-Cardinals series that makes it seem like a different scenario, but Atlanta should be playing carefree against the Nats in September, eyeing the wild card and putting the pressure on Washington to win rather than the other way around.

Pittsburgh Pirates

But it isn't just Milwaukee that Atlanta must top. The Pirates may have the most favorable remaining schedule out of the bunch. First, as described, they get a chance to play both Atlanta and Milwaukee before the year is out. That could be huge entering the final week of the month.

Pittsburgh's remaining series are as follows: at Philadelphia, vs. the Cubs, vs. Boston and at Cincinnati. There isn't another playoff-bound team in the bunch.

In fact, the Pirates have four series remaining outside of the matchups with the other wild-card hopefuls, and three of those are against last-place clubs!

Anything can happen in September as past years have shown. However, based on how the teams are playing and who they have yet to face, Pittsburgh should be the front-runner to take home that second wild-card spot in the NL.