Braves' 13th consecutive win: By the numbers

WASHINGTON -- If losing their All-Star second baseman to injury the night before fazed the Braves, they sure didn’t show it in the hours leading up to their Tuesday game against the Nationals. Then they took the field knowing they’d be without Ozzie Albies for a significant stretch, really for the first time, and just kept on rolling.

Atlanta didn’t miss a beat in extending its MLB-best 13-game win streak, socking five more homers en route to a decisive 10-4 victory at Nationals Park. The Braves' 13-game streak is the longest in the Majors this season, the club’s longest since the 2013 team reeled off 14 in a row and tied for the third longest in the franchise’s modern era (since 1900). The 2000 Braves won 15 straight to set the franchise’s modern era record.

“You feel like you’re on top of the world, when you keep winning every night,” said rookie center fielder Michael Harris II. “I feel like we’re doing everything in every aspect of the game.”

This streak will certainly end before October, but it’s surged the defending champion Braves back up the standings after a slow start. They are yet to lose in June, their last defeat coming May 31 against the D-backs. That’s a full fortnight without a loss. They’ve cut the Mets’ lead in the National League East from 10 1/2 to 5 games in that span, though they only kept pace Tuesday, as New York topped Milwaukee.

Atlanta’s victory Tuesday was incredibly similar to Monday’s series-opening romp in the nation’s capital, with Dansby Swanson, Travis d’Arnaud, Marcell Ozuna and Harris all homering for the second straight night. Ozuna again went yard as part of a back-to-back effort, this time with d’Arnaud (Monday, it was Adam Duvall) off Nationals righty Jackson Tetreault, who was tagged for seven runs in his MLB debut. Orlando Arcia and Harris then went back-to-back in the sixth, becoming the fourth pair of Braves to do so in the last three games.

“It’s just one of them things,” manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s good. I like it.”

If Snitker sounds understated, that’s because for the Braves, this kind of thrashing is becoming routine. Tuesday’s was ample support for an inefficient-yet-effective Max Fried’s seventh win.

Here are a few numbers that show just how dominant Atlanta has been during these two full weeks of uninterrupted winning:

Number: 93 to 39 (+54)
Stat: Run differential during streak
The Braves aren’t squeaking out these wins. They are winning by an average of 4.15 runs per game and scoring 7.15 per contest, giving a staff that’s compiled a 2.78 ERA during the streak plenty of wiggle room.

Swanson is hitting .370 with three homers during the streak. d’Arnaud has a 1.192 OPS and 11 RBIs during the streak. Ronald Acuña Jr. entered this series white-hot. And the streak continues to be a coming out party for Harris, who debuted four days before it began and has hit .317 with two homers and an .878 OPS in his first 17 big league games.

“I’ve been very impressed with [Harris’] instincts, the bat speed, the strength,” Snitker said. “He’s done a really, really fine job of competing up here."

Number: 32 to 10 (+22)
Stat: HR differential during streak
The Braves have outhomered their opponents by more than triple over the last two weeks. They’ve hit five homers in consecutive games (2nd time in franchise history), at least four homers in three straight, at least three in four straight and at least one in five consecutive.

Simply put, these Braves mash. For the season, Atlanta’s +45 home run differential is second largest in MLB behind the Yankees’ +50. Only the Yankees (98) have homered more than the Braves (94) and only the Yankees (48) and Giants (48) have allowed fewer than Atlanta (49).

“That’s our identity,” Snitker said. “We’re not a team that bunches hits. We hit homers. We are who we are.”

Number: 61 years (at least)
Stat: Back-to-back HR in 3 straight games
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this is the first time since at least 1961 the Braves went back-to-back in three straight games. And while the Cubs also did it this season, the feat is rare. Previously, the last team to pull it off was the Royals, from July 22-24, 2017.

Number: 107.9 mph, 413 feet
Stat: Arcia’s HR
Perhaps Tuesday’s most notable homer was Arcia’s sixth-inning solo shot, the hardest of his career, his third-longest since 2020 and his sixth-longest since 2019, the last time Arcia was an everyday player.

That bodes well for the Braves because now, suddenly, Arcia is again Atlanta’s new everyday second baseman with Albies out.

“He’s a good player,” Snitker said. “I mean, this guy was a dude for a while, an everyday Major League shortstop. We’re very fortunate to have him after what happened last night.”