Braves Proving They're Clearly the Class of the NL East With Series Win Over Phillies

If you want to reference the opening series of the season when the Philadelphia Phillies swept the Atlanta Braves, you can but you'd be wasting your time.

Both teams are totally different at this point, especially the Braves, who now lead the NL East by 2.5 games after smoking the Phillies in their series finale, 15-1.

Atlanta's pitching staff still has room for improvement, but Mike Foltynewicz had a strong outing Sunday and looked more like the All-Star pitcher he was last year.

Of course, when you have this offense, you don't need a dominant pitching staff. They made a statement in the series finale against Philly after losing in come-from-behind fashion the night before, compiling season highs in runs (15) and hits (19).

With this series win over the Phillies, the Braves proved they are the class of the division. They can come back late and win, or they can score early and bludgeon their opponent into submission.

We know about Ronald Acuña Jr. and Freddie Freeman, but this lineup doesn't quit. You have Ozzie Albies hitting seventh or eighth on a given day and he owns an OPS over .800 and will likely be the starting second baseman for the NL All-Star team.

Josh Donaldson broke out in this series after a slow start to the season, and we all know what he's capable of. We're talking about a former AL MVP. Oh, and rookie Austin Riley already has 11 home runs and 32 RBI in just 30 career games.

It's still too early to count out the Phillies, but they are dealing with several key injuries, the offense hasn't completely clicked, and the pitching staff has its holes.

The Braves are full of young talent all over the diamond, and GM Alex Anthopoulos has the resources to fix any weakness this club has heading into the deadline.

This isn't just a fun story. The Braves are for real and primed to make a run in the NL.