The Braves entered Sunday afternoon's series finale at Wrigley Field knowing they would clinch the National League East with a victory. But that did not prove to be necessary.
As the Braves were leading the Cubs, 3-1, in the sixth inning, they learned that they had clinched the division courtesy of the Nationals' 4-2 loss to the Marlins in the first game of a day-night doubleheader at Nationals Park.
Upon the completion of Sunday's game against the Cubs, the Braves will have the opportunity to pop champagne and celebrate their first division title since 2005.
With their magic number at one, the Braves needed just one win or one Nationals loss to officially end the NL East race that they have led since playing their fifth game of the season April 5.
The Braves have spent a Major League-high 175 days in first place. They have owned a division lead of at least eight games dating back to July 24.
Now that they have secured the division title, the Braves will wait to see who they will play in the NL Division Series.
If Atlanta maintains the NL's best record over their remaining seven games, it will secure home-field advantage leading up to the World Series. This would also set the Braves up to face the winner of the one-game NL Wild Card playoff.
--- Source: MLB.com