None of that stopped the market from installing the Twins as the play across the board, and the price didn't move much off it. Atlanta had dropped 4 of its last 6 coming in, a rough stretch for a team that still sits comfortably atop its division, while Minnesota had won 2 straight and looked like the fresher club standing on the field.
The script played out almost exactly like the two games before it. Minnesota scratched across a run in the 3rd, blew it open with 3 more in the 5th, and tacked on 2 in the 7th to finish at 6. Atlanta's offense stirred late, with 1 run in the 5th and 3 in the 6th, but by then the deficit was too much to erase. The Braves also committed an error while being outhit 10-7, the kind of sloppy afternoon that's defined this whole series for them.
Atlanta now walks away from Minneapolis having been outscored badly across 3 games and looking every bit like a team that's lost its footing after a hot summer. The division cushion buys them time, but the pitching depth issues aren't going anywhere with Schwellenbach, Strider and multiple relievers still working back.
Minnesota, for its part, gets to enjoy a series sweep of a first-place club while nursing its own issues in the outfield and rotation. It's the kind of result that won't move the standings much in either direction, but it's a real data point on how vulnerable Atlanta's pitching staff has become down the stretch.