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Despite mustering next to no offense lately, the Atlanta Braves are still firmly in control of their playoff destiny.
The Braves enter their final series in New York of the year on Friday to take on the Mets with a 3.5-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals and a comfy 5 games up on the third-seeded Pittsburgh Pirates. The top two Wild Card seeds will meet in a one-game playoff this season.
Atlanta is coming off a four-game home series with the Colorado Rockies in which it scored only eight runs yet still managed to take three of four. Six of those eight runs came in the first game of the series Monday.
The Wild Card is the likely route for Atlanta to get back to the postseason, as the Washington Nationals, winners of their last five, hold a 7.5-game lead in the NL East.
The Braves send Paul Maholm to the mound to face Jonathan Niese and the Mets Friday night at 7:10 p.m. ET.
Read more on the Braves at Talking Chop and SB Nation Atlanta. Head over to Amazin' Avenue and SB Nation New York or more on the Mets. Baseball Nation is your source for news and analysis around Major League Baseball.