ATLANTA - Ronald Acuña Jr. was pumped to join a very exclusive club.
He's even more thrilled about the chance to properly celebrate a division title.
Acuña became the second-youngest player in MLB history to hit 40 home runs in a season, and teammate Freddie Freeman also drove in two runs Thursday afternoon as the Atlanta Braves clinched at least a tie for first place in the National League East with a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
"That's the most exciting thing up to this point," the 21-year-old from Venezuela said through a translator. "That's what we're all looking for. I think for all of us, it's just come out with that same energy, that same enthusiasm, get that win and hopefully celebrate. That's something we're all looking forward to."
Associated Press photo by John Bazemore / Atlanta Braves center fielder Ronald Acuna Jr., right, and shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria celebrate after the team's 5-4 win against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.The Braves (94-60) have eight regular-season games remaining, and a second straight division title seems a formality as they prepare to host a weekend series against the San Francisco Giants. Atlanta is 9 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Washington Nationals, who were off Thursday before starting a weekend road series against the Miami Marlins.
The Braves' magic number for winning the East outright is now 1, so they can officially let loose as soon as Friday with either a victory over the Giants or a Washington loss. And this time around, Acuña can take part in a champagne toast.
He wasn't yet of legal age when the Braves won the division a year ago.
"They wouldn't let me drink because I was a minor," Acuña recalled, breaking into a big smile. "This year, it's going to be different. I'm looking forward to it."
After winning the first two games of the series, the Phillies' postseason hopes took another blow. They came into the day trailing both the the Chicago Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers by three games for the NL's second wild-card spot.
"We've still got a chance," insisted Philadelphia outfielder Bryce Harper, whose team faces the Nationals five times next week.
Associated Press photo by John Bazemore / Atlanta Braves center fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. follows through on a two-run home run in the third inning of Thursday's home win against the Philadelphia Phillies.Acuña's historic homer came with a flourish. He launched a 432-foot drive into the second deck at SunTrust Park for a 2-0 lead in the third inning, standing at home plate to admire his shot off Aaron Nola before tossing the bat away and slowly rounding the bases.
Mel Ott, who was 20 when he hit 42 homers for the New York Giants in 1940, is the only player younger than Acuña to post a 40-homer season. Eddie Mathews also was 21 but about two months older than Acuña when he hit 47 homers for the Milwaukee Braves in 1953. Mathews and Ott are both members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
"It feels incredible," Acuña said. "To be compared to superstars and Hall of Famers like that, especially at such a young age, wow."
The 2018 NL rookie of the year had gone five games since his 39th homer.
"He might relax now and really go off," Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. "That's an unbelievable accomplishment at this stage of his career."
Acuña is still three stolen bases shy of another milestone. He has 37 steals in his quest to become just the fifth 40-40 player in baseball history, with Jose Canseco (1988), Barry Bonds (1996), Alex Rodriguez (1998) and Alfonso Soriano (2006) the only ones to accomplish the feat.
"Only four other players have achieved that with all the people who've played in the big leagues over the years," Acuña said. "It would be amazing."
After Acuña's homer drove in catcher Tyler Flowers, who had reached on an infield single, Philadelphia pulled even in the fifth. Adam Haseley drove a run-scoring double to right field off Mike Soroka, took third on Nola's single and came in to score on César Hernández's forceout.
Freeman reclaimed the lead for Atlanta in the bottom half when he ripped a one-out single to right off Nola (12-6) to bring home Matt Joyce and Acuña.
Associated Press photo by John Bazemore / Atlanta Braves center fielder Ronald Acuna Jr., right, and second baseman Ozzie Albies celebrate the team's 5-4 home win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday afternoon. The Braves reduced their magic number for winning the NL East outright to 1.Joyce got the inning started with a pinch-hit single batting for Soroka (13-4), who was lifted after 88 pitches in one of his final tuneups for the postseason. Soroka surrendered five hits, struck out five batters and didn't walk anyone.
Nola worked five-plus innings. Philadelphia cut the lead to 4-3 in the sixth, but Atlanta rookie Austin Riley answered with his 18th homer of the season off the right-hander leading off the bottom half. Nola gave up nine hits, two hits and all five Atlanta runs.
Philadelphia loaded the bases with one out in the eighth off Shane Greene but only managed one run on Scott Kingery's sacrifice fly. Mark Melancon worked a perfect ninth for his 11th save with Atlanta and 12th overall this season.
Riley's homer was his first since Aug. 2 - just before he went down with a knee injury that kept him out a month - and just his second in his past 27 games with Atlanta.
The Braves gave slugger Josh Donaldson his first day off since May 22. The third baseman was joined on the bench by shortstop Dansby Swanson, who is hitting just .156 since returning from the injured list.