ATLANTA -- When the Braves exited this season's first month, they were still reeling from a nine-game losing streak and providing reason to wonder if Bobby Cox's final days on the bench would prove to be somber.
Fueled by a torrid run through May, the Braves now will enter the season's final month in prime position to allow Cox to make one more run through the postseason before he concludes his highly-successful managerial career.
Cox celebrated division championships during each of the first 14 full seasons of his current tenure as the Braves manager. With 28 games remaining, he finds his club situated to win another National League East crown or at least find entry into the postseason via the Wild Card.
Entering Friday's series opener in Miami, the Braves own a two-game lead over the Phillies in the National League East race. They stand four games in front of the Giants, who sit directly behind the front-running Phillies in the Wild Card race.
"This is the most fun I've ever had coming to the field this late in the year," Braves catcher Brian McCann said. "I can't say enough about the guys that I'm playing with. It's a special group. We're just having a really good time showing up at the field and playing hard every night."
McCann was one of the 18 rookies who helped the Braves notch the NL East crown in 2005, back when it essentially assumed that Cox's club would be an annual postseason participant. All assurances have been erased while the past four Octobers have passed without the presence of a meaningful game at Turner Field.
Barring an epic collapse or torrid surge produced by the Braves, at least a portion of this upcoming October will once again be meaningful at Turner Field. The Phillies will spend the first three days of next month playing a season-ending three-game series in Atlanta.
While the Phillies might still be in position to notch a fourth consecutive division title, the Braves will almost certainly be energized by the excitement created by a potential postseason berth and the tributes that will center around Cox's last regular-season weekend as a Major League manager.
"There isn't anybody in this clubhouse who hasn't thought about how special it would be to send Bobby out in celebratory fashion," Braves outfielder Matt Diaz said.
The Braves will experience some familiarity while playing 21 of their last 28 games and each of their final 18 games against NL East opponents. They'll head to Philadelphia for a three-game series that begins Sept. 20. The defending NL champions will then come to Atlanta the following weekend for the season-ending showdown.
"That's the way you want it," McCann said. "You want to go up against teams in your division and be able to dictate what happens."
The only non-divisional games remaining for the Braves consist of a three-game series against the NL-worst Pirates and a four-game series against the reeling Cardinals, who have severely damaged their postseason hopes over the past two weeks.
Entering Thursday, three of the six remaining opponents -- Marlins, Cardinals and Phillies -- on the Braves schedule had winning records. Three of the five remaining opponents -- Brewers, Nationals and Mets -- for the Phillies have posted losing records.
Both the Braves and Phillies have fared better while playing within the confines of their respective cities this year. The Braves have produced a Major League-best .720 winning percentage (49-19) at home this year and gone 29-37 on the road. The only series they've lost at Turner Field this year came way back in April against the Phillies.
The Phillies have posted a .617 winning percentage at Citizens Bank Park and gone 34-32 on the road. They will play 16 of their final 28 games in Philadelphia.
Unfortunately for the Braves, they will play just 13 of their final 28 games within the friendly environment that Turner Field has proved to be this year.
But heading into the season's final months, it doesn't matter what has happened in the past. April's nine-game losing streak has long since been clouded by the ability to claim the season-long goal to give Cox one more chance to experience the postseason.
"It's the same goal and the same mindset," Braves outfielder Jason Heyward said. " We have to go into this with the mindset that we have to win these games. We had to win in the first month and we have to win in this month."