Well, friends, our multimonth fandom-related nightmare is over: the 2021 Braves are finally, finally over .500. They got there by sweeping the Cardinals in St. Louis with back-to-back comeback wins, and now return home to play the only other squad they’ve swept this season: the Washington Nationals.
But wait! These aren’t the same Nationals that the Braves swept. They’re not the same Nationals that the Braves have taken seven of ten from this season. They’re not the same Nationals that, as a team, come into this game with a fine 15th overall team fWAR for position players (Braves are 12th) and 22nd overall team fWAR for pitchers (Braves are also 12th).