ATLANTA — Matt Olson knew the Atlanta Braves were too talented to stay in a season-long slump.
That's why neither the first baseman nor his teammates panicked when the New York Mets' lead in the National League East standings swelled to double digits in May. Now the Braves are on the cusp of another division title.
"It's a clubhouse full of guys who want to win," said Olson, a 28-year-old Atlanta native in his first season with the reigning World Series champions after being traded by the Oakland Athletics in March.
"That's all it's been since the moment I walked in. That's No. 1 on the program."
Olson and Atlanta shortstop Dansby Swanson homered for the third straight game, Travis d'Arnaud hit a go-ahead, two-run single in the third inning, and the Braves beat the Mets 5-3 on Sunday night, completing a three-game sweep in the rivalry series and taking a two-game lead in the division with three games to play.
The Braves (100-59) had been chasing the Mets (98-61) the entire season, but now any combination of one Atlanta win or one New York loss would give the Braves their fifth straight division title and MLB record-extending 22nd overall.
The Mets' final three games of the regular season are at home against the Washington Nationals, whose 55-104 record is MLB's worst this year. The Braves hit the road for a three-game set against the Miami Marlins (67-92). If Atlanta and New York remain tied Wednesday at season's end, the Braves would take the division title after winning the season series 10-9 with Sunday's victory.
"We've felt this confidence since the beginning of the year," d'Arnaud said. "It just didn't go our way early in the year, but pulling on the same rope, having each others' backs, not trying to do too much — we're just trying to play the game of baseball and have fun with it."
The Braves won five of the last six games in the series, outscoring the Mets 42-19 over that stretch. New York had a 10 1/2-game lead on June 1 but now is lower in the standings than at any point this season.
It was a lost weekend for New York, which came to Atlanta hoping to clinch its first division title since 2015. Instead, co-aces Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer lost Friday and Saturday before Chris Bassitt lasted just 2 2/3 innings Sunday.
Atlanta and New York clinched postseason berths two weeks ago, but the division winner will have a first-round bye and the second-place finisher will host a best-of-three series in the wild-card round.
"We still have three games left in the regular season, we're still going to the postseason, that doesn't change, but there's a lot of learning points that we can take from this series moving forward," Mets slugger Pete Alonso said. "I thought we played well, but the Braves played better. They played excellent baseball this entire weekend."
Swanson took Bassitt deep to right-center in the first with his 25th homer of the season, and Atlanta took charge with a three-run third. Bassitt (15-9) issued a bases-loaded walk to Olson before d'Arnaud delivered a single up the middle to score Ronald Acuña Jr. and Austin Riley for a 4-3 lead. That chased Bassitt, who was charged with four runs, three hits and three walks.
Olson connected for his 33rd homer of the season to make it 5-3 leading off the sixth, with his 410-foot shot landing in the seats in right-center. Olson surpassed 100 RBIs for the second straight season, and Atlanta leads the NL with 241 homers this year.
"Everyone knew we were underperforming when we were flirting around that .500 range," Olson said. "It was one of those things where it was trusting the talent we have and the guys in the clubhouse. Everybody was solid, head down, do your work, it'll turn around and you wind up winning."
It has led to the team's first 100-win season since 2003.
Atlanta starter Charlie Morton stranded runners on first and second in the first inning, but he gave up Daniel Vogelbach's 18th homer that tied it at 1 in the second. The veteran right-hander struck out Francisco Lindor with runners on first and second to end the threat.
Jeff McNeil went deep off Morton in the third, and Vogelbach followed with an RBI single to put the Mets up 3-1.
McNeil went 3-for-5 and has multiple hits in five straight games. His average is .326, one point behind the Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman — the former Atlanta first baseman — for the NL batting title. In 23 career games at Truist Park, McNeil is hitting .395 with 12 runs, nine doubles, two homers, seven RBIs and four walks.
Morton entered the game having allowed 28 homers this year, sixth most in the NL.
He scuffled throughout his night on the mound, giving up three runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings as the 38-year-old made his first start since Friday's announcement he will receive a $20 million, one-year contract to remain with Atlanta next season.
Dylan Lee (5-1) relieved Morton and pitched 1 1/3 innings, leaving after a walk to Brandon Nimmo with two outs in the sixth. Collin McHugh entered and struck out Francisco Lindor.
Raisel Iglesias faced four batters in the seventh, A.J. Minter faced the minimum in the eighth and closer Kenley Jansen converted his third save of the series with a clean ninth. Jansen, who joined the Braves in the offseason after previously playing for the Dodgers, leads the NL with 40 saves in 47 chances this year.
Jansen tied National Baseball Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley for eighth place on the career saves list with 389. He's also the 10th closer to have four seasons with at least 40 saves.
The Braves' bullpen, which posted a 1.70 ERA last month, pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings in the final two games of the series.
The club drew 42,713 in its regular-season finale, the 42nd sellout of the season at Truist Park. Overall, that's 3,129,931 for the year — and the most tickets sold since 2000. In 2019, the team's last full season before the COVID-19 pandemic, Atlanta drew 2,655,100.
In injury news, Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies (broken right pinky finger) is still wearing a cast and right-handed starting pitcher Spencer Strider still has not thrown as he gets treatment on a sore left oblique.
In Monday's series opener at Miami, the Braves will give the ball to right-hander Bryce Elder (2-3, 2.76 ERA). The Marlins will start left-hander Jesús Luzardo (3-7, 3.53).