Braves Clinch 2026 NL East as Mike Yastrzemski Powers Sweep of Astros

The Atlanta Braves are National League East champions again. Mike Yastrzemski hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning Sunday as Atlanta beat the Houston Astros 4-2 at Daikin Park, completing a three-game sweep and clinching its seventh division title in nine years.

The result moved Atlanta to 92-64 and completed a turnaround from a 76-86 season in 2025, when the Braves missed the postseason. This year’s title comes in Walt Weiss’ first season as manager and gives Atlanta six games to prepare for October.

Yastrzemski turns the clincher with one swing

Houston led 1-0 after Jose Altuve homered in the fourth, and Astros starter Hunter Brown kept Atlanta scoreless through five innings while striking out 10.

The game changed in the sixth. Mauricio Dubón doubled, Ozzie Albies drove in Michael Harris II with a game-tying single, and Yastrzemski followed with his 12th homer of the season. The 373-foot shot to right-center came off Bryan King and turned a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 Braves lead.

Yastrzemski finished 2-for-4 with three RBI. He also homered three times during Atlanta’s 4-2 road trip, making his latest blast the defining swing of the division-clinching weekend.

Atlanta’s bullpen survives Houston’s pressure

Martín Pérez allowed one run on six hits in 4 1/3 innings, but the biggest pitching moment came immediately after he departed. Victor Mederos entered with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth, struck out Altuve and induced Yainer Díaz to ground out, keeping the deficit at one.

AJ Smith-Shawver then delivered two scoreless innings in relief, with his fastball reaching 100.5 mph. Ray Kerr surrendered a solo homer to Díaz in the eighth before Dylan Dodd struck out the side in the ninth for his second save and the final out of the division race.

Braves complete a one-year turnaround

Atlanta’s 2025 season ended without a playoff appearance, snapping a seven-year postseason streak. The club entered 2026 with questions around its rotation and then lost multiple projected starters to injuries during spring training.

The Braves still found enough depth to win the East. Pérez emerged as a dependable starter after beginning the year as a non-roster invitee, while deadline acquisition Tyler Mahle has strengthened the rotation down the stretch. Atlanta also received important contributions from players such as Dubón and Mederos alongside established stars Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson and Chris Sale.

The championship is Atlanta’s 24th division title since divisional play began in 1969, matching the Los Angeles Dodgers for the most in Major League Baseball over that span.

What comes next for Atlanta

The Braves currently project as the National League’s No. 3 seed, which would put them into the Wild Card Series rather than granting a first-round bye. Their final six regular-season games will determine the exact postseason matchup.

For Houston, the sweep carried the opposite consequence. The Astros fell to 77-79 and remain in a tight American League playoff race after losing 10 of their last 14 games.

Atlanta has already secured the part that mattered most this weekend: after missing October a year ago, the Braves are back as NL East champions.