On Aug. 9, the Atlanta Braves lost 6-5 to the Colorado Rockies to start their current west-coast road trip. While it may have seemed like an insignificant game, one out of 162 in a season, it marked the Braves’ sixth straight loss.

Even more incredible, it was the Braves’ second six-game skid after the All-Star break. The Braves were stuck in a downward spiral that saw them lose 13 of 19 games. It dropped them out of the National League wild-card spot after having a stranglehold on postseason positioning all season.

Could we say the Braves hit rock bottom with that defeat? That was a week ago.

Who would have envisioned the Atlanta Braves would be in the position they are currently in with a little more than a month left in the regular season?

After all the superstars lost for the season due to injuries, after all the time lost to the injured list because of one injured starter after another, after all the great play that the Philadelphia Phillies displayed up until the last couple of weeks of the season, the Braves were only seven games back of first place in the National League East heading into this weekend’s series with Angels.

Now, it’s not a down-to-the-wire type of pennant race where one or two games separate the top two teams, but it’s also not a double digit deficit either, which it seemed like the Braves were in only recently.

Amazingly, the Braves are not out of the division chase. That’s what happens when the team shows fight with its back against the wall this week, winning three out of four against the Giants. It also is what happens when the team belts home runs, Thursday’s 6-0 loss notwithstanding. It’s also a reflection of the poor play of late of the Phillies who are just 9-16 after the All-Star break.

The Braves should benefit from an easier schedule down the stretch. It plays at the lowly Angels this weekend and still has five games with the Nationals, three with the Rockies, Blue Jays and Marlins. They also have the Phillies for two series on the calendar in the span of two weeks. The Braves have defeated the Phillies in four of six games already.

The Phillies will play the Braves, surging Royals and red-hot Astros in 16 straight games starting on Aug. 20.

I’m not predicting a comeback for the ages with the Braves prevailing in the division. It’s still a sizable deficit on Aug. 16. But at least the Braves are applying pressure in a division that was all but wrapped up a few weeks ago.

The reigning division champs are showing fight in a season that had taken a lot of the fight out of them.