Braves Keep Pressure on NL East With Sweep of Pirates Entering Vital June Series vs Phillies

The Atlanta Braves have had an extraordinary week of baseball, winning seven straight and taking possession of first place in the NL East. After a slow start to the season, the Braves are now finding their stride and it seems as if all the pieces are coming together for Brian Snitker and co.

The Braves completed a four-game series sweep of the Pirates Thursday afternoon and will now shift their attention to a Philadelphia Phillies team that is hot on their heels for the NL East crown. The weekend matchup is set to be a crucial one, even in the month of June, as the Braves can look to build some ground on their rivals.

Austin Riley came up clutch during the series, as a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday night sent the game to extra frames, where the red-hot Ozzie Albies was able to drive in the winning run.

It wasn't only the young guys doing work for Atlanta. Freddie Freeman clubbed a triple and a homer during the series and drove in 5 RBI, while Julio Teheran pitched well Thursday.

The Braves were able to pull off the sweep of the Pirates despite a rocky opening game of the series during which tempers flared after Josh Donaldson was "plunked" by a pitch from Joe Musgrove. Atlanta got its revenge on Musgrove Thursday, knocking him around for 6 earned runs.

With the team's attention now on their divisional rivals, the Braves look to extend their NL East lead.