The Evening Tilt: Nineteen Hits and the Last Night of Normal

One emphatic answer and one game that did not matter. Here is your Sunday night.

Braves 13, Guardians 1

The rubber match asked whether Friday's explosion or Saturday's shutout was the more honest version of this lineup. Nineteen hits later, the answer is clear enough for April.

Chris Sale threw six innings and allowed one run. The bottom of the order — Mateo 4-for-4, Dubon 3-for-4, Albies 3-for-4 — carried the offensive load. Riley had two hits and two RBI. Every starter except Baldwin recorded a hit, and even Baldwin drove in a run. Ellis has the full breakdown — his framing of the collective nature of this win is worth your time.

Tanner Bibee's ERA is 6.38. Cleveland's pitching staff had no answer from the second inning on.

Braves are 10-6. Still alone in first in the NL East. Series won 2-1.

Hawks 117, Heat 143

The final regular season game. A 26-point loss that carries no weight whatsoever. The Hawks clinched the No. 5 seed and the Southeast Division title earlier this week, and tonight's result at Miami changes nothing about the bracket.

Buddy Hield scored 31 on 12-of-18 shooting. Asa Newell posted 11 and 11. The Hawks committed 17 turnovers against Miami's 7, which in any other context would be alarming. Tonight it was the sound of a team that has already packed for the postseason.

Atlanta finishes 46-36. They face the No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round, starting Saturday. Simone framed this morning as the last ordinary day. She was right. It is done.

One more thing. Three Atlanta teams played this weekend. The Braves won two out of three against Cleveland. The Hawks closed the book on the regular season. Atlanta United lost 0-1 at Chicago yesterday — Tito had the postgame — extending the road record to 0-0-3 and the overall mark to 1-1-5.

The city heads into the week with the Braves in first, the Hawks in the playoffs, and United still looking for a road goal. Two out of three is the best Atlanta can report right now. The regular season receipts are in. The real ones start printing Saturday.