HOUSTON -- Along with attempting to find the baseball Jorge Soler sent into orbit during the 2021 World Series, the Braves are hoping to spend this weekend enjoying yet another celebration in Houston.  

“That would be amazing,” second baseman Ozzie Albies said. “Hopefully, we can get it done there.”

Albies, Ronald Acuña Jr., Austin Riley and Dylan Lee are the only current Braves who were part of the celebration that followed Atlanta winning the 2021 World Series with a Game 6 win in Houston. A lasting memory from that night’s victory is the home run Soler hit out of the stadium.

Will this weekend’s three-game series against the Astros at Daikin Park create some more good memories? There’s a chance. The Braves have won seven of the eight games they have played in Houston since the start of the 2020 season, postseason included. This includes their three-game sweep of the Marlins during the 2020 NL Division Series, which was played in Houston.

The Braves will enter Friday’s series opener with a four-game lead over the second-place Phillies in the National League East race. With both teams having just nine games remaining and Atlanta owning the tiebreaker, the Braves could clinch their division as early as Sunday.  

As Atlanta plays its three-game series against the Astros, the Phillies will be completing a four-game series against the Mets in New York.   

Philadelphia’s rotation was weakened this week when Jesús Luzardo was placed on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation on Tuesday. As of Friday morning, the Phillies had not yet named a starter for tonight's game, but Andrew Painter will pitch on Saturday.

The Phillies won’t get any sympathy from the Braves, whose rotation depth has been a concern since the start of Spring Training. Bryce Elder -- who is recovering from arthroscopic right knee surgery -- and Reynaldo López -- whose right shoulder discomfort has limited him all season -- were the most recent Atlanta starters to hit the injured list.

The lack of depth within Atlanta’s injury-depleted rotation forced the Braves to start both López and JR Ritchie while still in a pennant race this week against the Cubs. The only game the Braves won in the three-game series was started by Martín Pérez on Tuesday.  

This weekend’s series in Houston should have a different feel, as each of the Braves’ three scheduled starters -- Tyler Mahle, Grant Holmes and Pérez -- should all be part of the team’s postseason rotation.  

Chris Sale could have started one of this weekend’s games against the Astros, but the Braves opted to give him an extended rest. The NL Cy Young Award candidate will start Wednesday’s game against the Reds with six extra days of rest. This sets the 37-year-old hurler up to start Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series on Sept. 29 with one extra day of rest.