NEW YORK -- All summer, the Braves have looked up to see, more than any other team, perhaps baseball's best pitcher lined up against them. And all summer they've defied him, often by the slimmest of margins, contributing more than any other opponent to Jacob deGrom's historically disjointed season.
All of which is to say they've made victories like Friday night's 2-1 nailbiter at Citi Field the oddest type of routine. For the fifth time this season, the Braves managed little against the Major League ERA leader. And for the fifth time in five tries, they won anyway.