ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves Bruce Maxwell Jersey , losers of at least 90 games each of the past three seasons, can clinch an unlikely National League East title on Saturday.Mike Foltynewicz (11-10, 2.90 ERA) will get the start for the Braves at SunTrust Park as they try to close out the second-place Philadelphia Phillies with more than a week remaining in the regular season.Foltynewicz, a first-time All-Star in 2018, will be opposed by former Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta (10-9, 3.77 ERA) as the Phillies try to avoid elimination for at least another day after losing the first two games of the series.Article continues below ...The Braves (86-68) went to work late in both games against the bullpen of the Phillies (78-75), winning 6-5 on Friday night after an 8-3 victory in the series opener the previous night.With a 7 1/2-game lead and the magic number down to two, the Braves can clinch first place before their home fans on Sunday if they don’t do it Saturday.Cy Young candidate Aaron Nola (16-5, 2.44 ERA) will start the series finale for the Phillies, with Anibal Sanchez (6-6, 2.44 ERA) getting the call for Atlanta.The Braves play their final six games on the road, including a three-game series — that was once highly anticipated — in Philadelphia to end the regular season.It was Sean Newcomb’s turn to start on Saturday for the Braves, but the struggling left-hander was skipped and put in the bullpen for the time being despite leading the team with 12 victories.Newcomb’s 12 wins top the Braves, but he posted an 11.34 ERA while losing his past four home starts. “I don’t think he needed a break. He just wasn’t pitching that great http://www.athleticsfanproshop.com/authentic-chad-pinder-jersey ,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of the 25-year-old. “I talked to him about that. We are going to go with the other guys pretty much. Just trying to pitch the guys who were going a little better.” Foltynewicz is 1-1 with a 1.96 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 23 innings in four starts versus the Phillies this season, and 4-3 with a 3.51 ERA in 11 career outings against them.The 26-year-old right-hander failed to last at least five innings for just the second time this season in a loss to St. Louis on Monday, but he had pitched a complete game in his previous start at San Francisco.Arietta is 4-1 with a 2.29 ERA in six career starts against the Braves, carrying over the previous success he had with the Chicago Cubs to his lone outing for the Phillies this season.The 32-year-old right-hander worked 6 2/3 scoreless innings in a victory at Philadelphia on May 23, allowing seven hits and a walk while striking out seven.Arrieta’s performance has been in decline the past eight weeks or so, mirroring the downturn of his team. Since pitching eight scoreless innings on Aug. 3 at Arizona, he has gone 1-3 with a 6.02 ERA in seven starts.“What’s done is done. I’ve got to move forward and just try to be better,” Arrieta said. Dustin Bradford/Getty ImagesThis is an article about Trevor Story, but don't worry. It will be completely pun-less. Every possible play on his last name has already been made hundreds of times over.Besides, let's be real. All anyone wants to do right now is watchthat home run again.You know, this one:That's the 505-foot home run that Story blasted in the Colorado Rockies' 5-3 win over the San Francisco Giants on Sept. 5.It's the longest home run of at least the Statcast era (since 2015), and possibly ever. After all, it's not as if the measurements of legendary dingers of yesteryear can be trusted.In any case, that prodigious wallop is a grand ol' feather in the cap of a player who's quietly become the best shortstop in the National League.Homers are certainly a big part of Story's case. His big blast was merely the loudest of the 32 he's hit this season. No other NL shortstop has more than 17. Throw in 40 doubles and 25 stolen bases Brett Anderson Jersey , and he's already had a season unlike any shortstop ever.Meanwhile, Story also co-leads his fellow NL shortstops in average (.293), and leads inon-base percentage (.347), slugging percentage (.558) and wins above replacement (5.0).But if it feels like the 25-year-old has been doing all this under the radar, that's because he has been.Story only made the NL All-Star team as a backup to Brandon Crawford. He's attracted less attention on Google all season than Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager, who had Tommy John surgery in May. Per Richard Justice of MLB.com, he'smerely on the periphery of the NL MVP race.It seems safe to chalk this up to the Rockies effect. Even when they're doing well鈥攁s they are now in leading the NL West race鈥攖hey tend to be treated as an oddity on the national stage. And whenever one of their hitters puts up big numbers, there's always the "yeah, but Coors Field" clapback.This is where a defense of Story must begin. The thin air and huge gaps of the Rockies' digs carried his production in his first two seasons, but wRC+ reveals that he's been an above average hitter at and away from home in 2018:It helps to have power that plays anywhere. Story's 43.5 hard-hit percentage since 2016 ranks fifth among qualified hitters. He's also "barreled" 12.1 percent of his batted balls, which easily tops his fellow shortstops. So, you see, his 505-foot clout wasn'tthat muchof an outlier.But while Story's power generated 51 home runs in his first two seasons, his .253 average and .322 OBP underscored his trouble with consistency. His fatal flaw was his 33.1 strikeout percentage Blake Treinen Jersey , which placed him behind only Chris Davis and Miguel Sano.In 2018, however, Story has cut his K% down to 26.1 percent. This marks an improvement of historic proportions, according toJeff Sullivanof FanGraphs. The recipe for it involves a little Kris Bryant and a little Mike Trout.Like Story, Bryant was a big-time strikeout magnet when he broke into the majors in 2015. His solution was to flatten his swing, cutting down on its uppercut quality and allowing for a more direct path to the ball. Lo and behold, his strikeout problem isn't a problem anymore.According to Nick Groke of theDenver Post, the Rockies started pushing Story to make a similar change late in 2017, and it's paying off now.His average launch angle is down from 18.8 to 16.6 degrees. This has cost him some fly balls but gained him quite a bit of contact.Another issue Story had in his first two seasons was a reluctance to swing, even when pitches found the strike zone. That placed him on the wrong side of the fine line between patience and passivity.EnterBrandon Sherard, Story's longtime friend and hitting coach, who pressed the slugger to alter his approach.鈥淥ne of the biggest things we did was have him change his mindset to where he was hunting the ball out in front of the plate and slowing his body down,鈥?Sherard told Patrick Saunders of the Post.This, too http://www.athleticsfanproshop.com/authentic-chris-hatcher-jersey , is paying off. Per Baseball Savant's most detailed strike zone, Story's swing rate inside the zone has increased while his swing rate outside the zone has remained static:Hence the comparison to Trout, who'sundertaken a similar revolution over the last three years. Story hasn't鈥攁nd probably definitely never will鈥攔each his heights, but his damage within the strike zone has improved accordingly:2016:.766 SLUG%2017:.569 SLUG%2018:.853 SLUG%As Story has made efforts to become a better hitter, his other talents haven't fallen by the wayside.He's a threat on the bases because he's one of the fastest shortstops in MLB, with an average sprint of 29.6 feet per second. His defensive quality is harder to pin down, yet defensive runs saved leans decidedly to the positive. The video offers plenty of support in favor of that conclusion.Ultimately, there aren't any reasons to doubt that Story really is as good as his numbers suggest. The tools were there from the beginning. By adding some nuance to his game, he's permitting himself to squeeze more out of them.Which is to say: He's worthy of attention, even when he's not hitting the ball untold distances. Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.