Braves Briefing: Everything goes Atlanta's way in the NL East on Saturday

The Atlanta Braves beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-4, and closer Raisel Iglesias made his first appearance of the year after being activated off the Injured List, collecting the save.

The rest of the NL East did not have a good Saturday

Atlanta defeats the Orioles, but the rest of the division - all four teams - dropped their respective matchups. The Marlins got tagged for two runs in the 8th inning as the Cubs won, 4-2. The Mets lost 5-2 to the Rockies, while the Nationals got walked-off by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the desert, 8-7.

But the most surprising result might be the Phillies losing 7-4 to the Boston Red Sox. Bryce Harper hit his first home run since astonishingly returning from Tommy John surgery 163 days ago, but Philly's pitching got nickeled and dimed to death: Boston collected ten hits and put up seven runs despite no homeruns and eight strikeouts.

With the losses, Atlanta's margin in the division continues to grow and now sits at six games, an unfamiliar position for Atlanta. The last few seasons, the Braves have started slow and had to chase down the Mets over the summer, but Atlanta's won seven of their last ten and is starting to make some space between them and the rest of the division, with no other divisional opponent being above .500 at the moment.

Atlanta's six game lead is the largest divisional lead in MLB.

NL East Standings

Team	Record	GB	Action Today
Braves	23-11	--	vs Orioles
New York	17-17	6.0	vs Rockies
Miami	16-18	7.0	@ Cubs
Philadelphia	15-19	8.0	vs Red Sox
Washington	13-20	9.5	@ Diamondbacks

We Wrote It

Braves Today writer Dan Strickland handled our takeaways from Friday's action, and he made a note about the defensive struggles of shortstop Vaughn Grissom:

Tonight, Grissom made a fielding error that cost the Braves a run in the top of the sixth inning. He has now made six errors in nineteen games this season at shortstop. For context, Dansby Swanson made eight errors in 161 games for the Braves last season. Yesterday the Braves called up Braden Shewmake, and he made his Major League debut in game one of the series. Shewmake is considered the better defender of the two shortstops currently on the roster, and Grissom’s continued defensive miscues will give Shewmake more playing time. The Braves subbed Shewmake in for Grissom in the top of the ninth inning tonight.

READ: Takeaways: Braves rally late to win the game and even the series against the O's

What's next?

Atlanta's got a brunch date with the Orioles to decide the series. The finale is a Peacock exclusive, and first pitch is at 11:35AM. The radio call, with Ben Ingram, is available locally on WIFN 1340 AM/103.7FM or outside the Atlanta market on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network or MLB.com.

Stories from the Orioles series

Takeaways: Braves rally late to win the game and even the series against the O's

WATCH: Kevin Pillar blasts a two-run, pinch-hit home run to give the Braves the lead in the eighth inning

WATCH: Marcell Ozuna hits a home run to give the Braves the early lead

Takeaways: Atlanta Braves Drop Opener to Orioles in Ugly Loss

Atlanta Braves call up SS prospect Braden Shewmake; activate Raisel Iglesias

Atlanta Braves Bullpen Roles Once Raisel Iglesias Returns

Podcast: Does May belong to Marcell Ozuna?

Braves Briefing: Best Rivalry in the NL East?

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