The Kansas City Royals traded their competitive balance pick in the upcoming amateur draft to the Atlanta Braves on Monday for a trio of minor league players.
Albies, a two-time All-Star, is hitting .244 with eight homers and a .694 OPS in 62 games this season. The 25-year-old batted .259 with a career-high 30 homers and a .799 OPS last season.
This stretch is the club’s best since it won 14 in a row from July 26 to Aug. 9, 2013. During the streak, Atlanta has outscored opponents 74-30 with 22 homers. The pitching staff has a 2.32 ERA over the same span.
Atlanta still leads the best-of-seven series 3-2, can still wrap it up with one more win, but the teams are heading back to Texas for the final one or two games that will be needed to settle things.
In the World Series for the first time since 1999, the Braves won in the Series at home for the time since the sixth and final game of the 1995 World Series against Cleveland.
Boosted by a strong bullpen effort, a two-run homer by Adam Duvall and a late sacrifice fly from Freddie Freeman, the Braves coasted in their first Series appearance since Chipper Jones and their Big Three aces ascended in 1999.
Eddie Rosario, Adam Duvall and Joc Pederson combined to drive in 17 of Atlanta’s 28 runs in its six-game NL Championship Series win over the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
Soler, who had a .246 batting average with 14 home runs and 33 RBIs during the regular season, was scheduled to bat leadoff as the Braves look to finish off the best-of-five series.
The Braves didn’t climb above .500 until Aug. 6, yet they went on to capture their 21st division title — more than any other team — since moving from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966.
The Braves are looking to return to the playoffs, but their pursuit of a fourth straight NL East title took a hit when Ronald Acuña Jr. tore the ACL in his right knee during Saturday’s 5-4 victory over Miami.