Dein erstes Forum » said.Fans seemed to mostly honor Mayor Marty Wals

On the morning of June 18 two years ago Kaleb McGary Jersey , the Atlanta Braves were 21-46. Now they’re atop the NL East.

Atlanta has turned its stocked farm system into a major league contender faster than expected, and after Sunday’s 4-1 win over San Diego, the Braves lead second-place Washington by 3 1/2 games. At 42-29, they’re even with Milwaukee for the National League’s best record and look poised to be a factor in what should be an entertaining race for that league’s five postseason spots.

After three straight seasons with at least 90 losses, Atlanta is making a jump similar to what Minnesota did a season ago, when the Twins improved from 59 wins to 85 and earned a wild card.

If you’re worried Atlanta is a fluke, there aren’t many obvious red flags. The Braves have a run differential of plus-67, the second-best mark in the NL. They’ve been fortunate at times (11-4 in one-run games) and unfortunate at times (1-6 in extra innings).

The Braves are second in the NL in OPS after finishing 11th a year ago. Their ERA has improved from 12th to fifth. They have an MVP candidate in slugger Freddie Freeman, and 21-year-old second baseman Ozzie Albies has 16 home runs. Outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. is on the disabled list after a knee injury, but he’s been considered one of the game’s top prospects. Shortstop Dansby Swanson, the No. 1 pick in the 2015 draft, has improved his OPS from .636 a season ago to .737.

That formula – Freeman surrounded by young standouts – could serve the Braves well for a while, and Atlanta has also received a lift from some older contributors. Nick Markakis is hitting .327, and Anibal Sanchez is 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA for the Braves after signing a minor league contract before the season.

In November Kendall Sheffield Jersey , Atlanta was hit with major penalties for circumventing international signing rules. That might hurt the Braves in the future, but it doesn’t seem to have had much of an effect on their ability to compete in 2018.

Other developments from around the majors:

MIDSEASON RUN

The Dodgers are 11-3 in June and have recovered from their poor start. They now trail Arizona by just 1 1/2 games atop the NL West.

Los Angeles can hope this season is following a similar trajectory to 2017, when the Dodgers went 21-7 in June on their way to 104 wins.

HIGHLIGHT

If you’re concerned about pace of play in baseball, you probably weren’t crazy about Joe Maddon’s maneuvering Wednesday. Maddon began the bottom of the eighth by bringing Steve Cishek in to pitch for the Cubs. After a single, Brian Duensing came on to pitch, but Cishek stayed in the game in left field. That enabled Cishek to go back to the mound one out later, with Duensing taking over in left. Duensing eventually went back to pitch and finished out the inning.

It was a clever way for Maddon to keep both pitchers available throughout the inning, but Chicago still lost 1-0 to Milwaukee.

LINE OF THE WEEK

San Diego’s Freddy Galvis went 5 for 5, including a three-run homer, in a 9-3 win over Atlanta on Friday night. Galvis drove in four runs in the game.

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BOSTON (AP) — With cheers of “We want seven!” and “Next year, right here!” hundreds of thousands of jubilant fans jammed downtown Boston on Tuesday for a parade celebrating the New England Patriots‘ sixth Super Bowl title.A party atmosphere enveloped the city on the unseasonably mild day. Red, white and blue confetti rained down and music blared as fans packed along sidewalks hoping to catch a glimpse of quarterback Tom Brady, coach Bill Belichick and the rest of the beloved team.It’s a familiar feeling in Boston. The city’s teams have now won twelve championships since 2001. Just four months ago, the city feted the Red Sox for their World Series victory over another Los Angeles team John Cominsky Jersey , the Dodgers.Boston resident Tom Collins was beaming as he took in the spectacle across from the city’s historic Common, his ticket from this year’s Super Bowl dangling from a lanyard around his neck.After celebrating in Atlanta, Collins said he and his wife drove nearly non-stop to get home for the parade.“We had to be a part,” he said as he smoked a cigar and held up a homemade Vince Lombardi trophy. “We had to bring the trophy back to Boston.”Leigh Hickman, of Swanzey, New Hampshire, drew cheers as he stalked the crowd wearing a rubber goat mask, a Tom Brady shirt and a sign that read: “We’re Still Here.”“I wanted to represent the G.O.A.T., the greatest player of all time,” he said. “I’m the same age as him and I can’t imagine doing any of the things he does. It’s unbelievable.”Fresh from Sunday’s 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl title match held in Atlanta, team members and their families took a 2-mile (3-kilometer) swing through the city aboard Boston’s iconic World War II-era amphibious “duck boats.”Brady held his pigtailed daughter, Vivian, as they waved and grinned at the crowd. Other players, Belichick and team owner Robert Kraft took turns holding aloft the Lombardi Trophy.Star tight end Rob Gronkowski Qadree Ollison Jersey , who has talked about retiring after this latest NFL title, whooped it up with his brothers and father. He and several other players removed their shirts and spent much of the parade bare-chested.Players also waved large signs that read, “We Got Everything” — a twist on the team’s motivational hashtag, “Everything We Got,” that had become a theme this season.Boston Police Sgt. John Boyle said the crowd of roughly 1.5 million was one of the largest the city has seen for a championship parade.The regional transit system reported record ridership as revelers basked in dazzling sunshine and temperatures that peaked above 60 degrees (15 degrees Celsius).Police made at least a dozen arrests and emergency medical officials transported 34 revelers to area hospitals. Five of those arrested were involved in a brawl that happened near the parade’s end and at least seven of the arrests were juveniles, Boyle said.Fans seemed to mostly honor Mayor Marty Walsh’s pleas not to throw anything at the team. Errant beer cans slightly damaged the Red Sox World Series trophy last year.Unlike in past years, there was no post-parade rally with speeches from Brady and others. Regardless, Patriots fans made it clear they weren’t ready for the good times to end.“Go for No. 7,” Lauren Mills said when asked what she’d say to Brady. “He still has how many fingers left? You know, four more rings to go.”