The National League East leaders were deadlocked this holiday weekend in Philadelphia, with the visiting Atlanta Braves and host Phillies splitting a four-game set with two wins each. It was an exciting battle between familiar rivals, filled with impressive performances and thrilling moments. But in the end, Walt Weiss’ Braves left the Thunderdome of Citizens Bank Park with the same four-game division lead they arrived with. A lot has happened – and a little too. As of now, the division will be lost to Atlanta. However, despite the shortening of the baseball calendar, these clubs have not yet figured each other out. Georgia has three more regular-season games next weekend. And of course, there’s always the possibility of a big date in October. Advertising Here’s what we learned this weekend. Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2026 NFL season. Ronald Acuña Jr. looks back a lot The biggest turnaround in the series – and perhaps Atlanta’s entire season – came Sunday afternoon thanks to the sudden appearance of Ronald Acuña Jr. on fire. With the Braves down three and a pair out, the electrifying outfielder tied things up with a three-run crowd jammer. After fending off six straight fastballs from Philadelphia pitcher Alex MacFarlane, Acuña put the seventh, a four-seam 100.5 mph ball into the seats. Walking around the bags, the ever-emotional slugger unleashed his elaborate cornucopia of long-ball celebrations, much to the chagrin of the booing Philadelphia crowd. For Acuña, this year was a turning point. He was pushed to the IL twice with a left hamstring strain. Just last week, his numbers looked staggering at best. Fastballs, especially those above the strike zone, gave him fits. But on Wednesday against Washington he was out for just the second time this season. This was a harbinger of things to come. Advertising Overall, Acuña went 7-for-15 with two doubles and two homers against Philadelphia. His kick against Zack Wheeler on Saturday drew a sharp response from the veteran hurler that cast aspersions on Acuña’s theatrics. “Our guy just rounds the bases—he hits 50 runs here,” he said, referring to MLB home run leader Kyle Schwarber. The next day, Acuña responded to Wheeler’s criticism with a dramatic long ball. But a ninth-inning walk with one out and the score complete in Monday’s loss was perhaps even more instructive about how locked in Acuña is now. He took three fastballs from pitching Jesus Luzardo and then spit on a back-foot slider for a huge free pass. Luzardo ultimately stranded Acuña first, but the Phillies will hope the Braves superstar cools down before the two teams meet again. Advertising The Phillies’ hands silenced Atlanta’s lefty bats Atlanta’s typically dangerous left-handed swingers combined to go 10-for-59 with just two doubles and no homers in the four-game set. Drake Baldwin was a relatively powerless 5-for-18. Michael Harris II was left with two singles. Matt Olson had just one hit and one walk in 15 trips to the plate. Unsurprisingly, Philadelphia’s excellent left-handed tandem of Christopher Sanchez and Luzardo was able to keep the one-dimensional swingers at bay. Sanchez has been brilliant all season. Luzardo has the National League’s lowest ERA (2.01) since June 1, and he delivered a masterclass in finishing the game on Monday. Both should finish in the top five in the NL Cy Young voting. More notable was that Philadelphia hurlers not named Sanchez or Luzardo limited Braves hitters to an 8-for-47 line. Baldwin was the only left-hander in Atlanta to knock out a right-hander multiple times. Saturday’s starter Wheeler and Sunday’s starter Aaron Nola gave up just one hit to the left-handed batter. This is a huge accomplishment considering how few right-handers Atlanta has on its roster, with the exception of Acuña. Advertising It’s also a testament to Philadelphia’s energetic starting lineup. All but Sanchez experienced an extended lull at some point this year, but Wheeler, Nola and Luzardo got their seasons back on track. The same could be said for Andrew Painter, the only Phillies starter who didn’t hit in the series. Subscribe to Yahoo! Sports MLB on YouTube: Videos, podcasts and more. Phillies bullpen walks a tightrope In contrast to the starters, Phillies relievers allowed seven earned runs in eight innings in the series, a troubling trend for a unit stagnant. It was already a rough patch for Orion Kerkering before the hard-hitting right-hander got a pair in the eighth inning on Friday. Kerkering’s fall opened the door for rookie McFarlane to gradually climb captain Don Mattingly’s tree of trust. Then Acuña caught him on Sunday. Advertising The team’s two most reliable players, Joan Duran and Jonathan Bowlan, also picked up points over the weekend. Mattingly’s decision to let Luzardo finish the game was likely motivated, at least in part, by the team’s undermanned reserve corps. Some of the blame for the bullpen shortage falls on President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski. The lone executive bullpen addition, Caleb Kilian, made just four appearances as Philadelphia before landing at Illinois with an oblique strain. It’s bad luck. Not acquiring anyone else was a bad process. At the moment, only Durant and Bowlan are 100 percent reliable. Everyone else makes you sweat. Perhaps one or more of Kerkering, McFarlane, Jose Alvarado or Brooks Raley can weather the rough patch and earn Mattingly’s trust. But it seems more and more likely that this under-reinforced bullpen will end up being Philadelphia’s October collapse. Advertising Atlanta’s pitching is better than you think. The Phillies hold the starting pitching lead in this game by a wide margin. If you had to make a starting rotation out of these two teams, it would be one Brave (Chris Sale) and four Phillies (Sanchez, Wheeler, Nola and Luzardo). But through four games, Atlanta once again proved that its entire roster can outperform Philadelphia’s. Tyler Mahle and Grant Holmes, the hurlers most likely to get on target in games two and three behind Sale in the playoff series, both put in outstanding performances over the weekend. They each threw six scoreless innings; Male on Sunday, Holmes on Monday. Neither of them have earth-shattering stuff, but Mahle and Holmes are savvy operators who know how to find outs. Advertising More importantly, Atlanta’s bullpen was masterful, as it has been all season. Only the Yankees and Red Sox have a lower ERA and WHIP than the Braves. Dylan Lee has developed into the perfect neutralizer for Philadelphia lefties. The ageless Raisel Iglesias continues to work on trucks. And aside from one error to Kyle Schwarber, 21-year-old Didier Fuentes was impressive in two multi-inning appearances. Fuentes, earmarked for the rotation next season, could be Atlanta’s secret weapon in the playoffs. Post navigation Amazon plane crash sparks debate over need for runway buffers NFL Catchup: Latest News on Rams, 49ers Stars; Sheader Sanders QB3?