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Braves clinch 1st NL East title since 2013

Daniel Shirey / Getty Images Sport / Getty

It's party time in Atlanta.

The Atlanta Braves - losers of 90 games one year ago - clinched their first National League East title in five years with a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.

"Four straight losing seasons, three straight 90-loss seasons," first baseman Freddie Freeman told David O'Brien of The Athletic. "This makes it all worth it. I knew in spring training what we had. Did I know we were going to put it all together? No, but I knew pretty early, by mid-May, that this was going to be special."

Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before Odubel Herrea broke up the bid with a single. Foltynewicz was pulled from the contest in the eighth inning after allowing two hits and two earned runs.

Up 4-0 heading into the eighth, Atlanta nearly collapsed. The Phillies scored three runs in the frame off a combination of pitchers including Foltynewicz and relievers Jesse Biddle, Brad Brach, and Jonny Venters.

Atlanta managed to escape the inning with a lead and wound up adding an insurance run in the bottom half of the inning thanks to an RBI single from Kurt Suzuki.

Braves closer Arodys Vizcaino pitched a spotless ninth to secure the division before his team piled onto the field to celebrate.

Rookie phenom Ronald Acuna Jr. joined the record books when he stole his 15th base of the season in the first inning. The 20-year-old became the first rookie to have at least 25 home runs and 15 stolen bases in a season since Mike Trout in 2012, according to MLB Stat of the Day.

Atlanta is the first NL team to clinch a playoff spot this season.

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