More than four months of dazzling baseball carried the Atlanta Braves to a fifth straight NL East title. Their hopes of repeating as World Series champion fell apart in less than a week.
The season came to an unimaginable end with two dismal performances in Philadelphia, where the Braves were outscored 17-4 and lost the Division Series 3-1 to a Phillies team they beat by 14 games during the regular season.
“Man, I’m disappointed,” manager Brian Snitker said Sunday, less than 24 hours after the final game. “Just remembering what we went through this year, and expecting to (win the World Series) again.