Atlanta Braves' All-Star second baseman Ozzie Albies is one step closer to returning from injury, per MLB.com. He left Sunday's game against the New York Mets early with a left hamstring strain, believed to be a cramp at the time. The Braves placed him on the 10-day IL on Tuesday, but he was on the field doing some light running drills on Friday.

Albies' hamstring injury must have been very minor, which was already the understanding, for him to be running just five days later. The Braves likely placed him on the IL just to be extra-careful. They're already so far ahead in their division, the most important thing is to have all of their guys fully healthy by October. The last thing Albies wants to do is unnecessarily exasperate the injury trying to squeeze in more regular season games. Atlanta can more than afford for him to miss a 10-day stretch.

Ozzie Albies, 26, made his third All-Star appearance for the Braves this year. He's hitting .267 with 28 home runs in 117 games so far. He's on pace to easily surpass his career highs in home runs (30) and RBIs (106; he has 90 now).

The Braves boast a 12.5 game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. Atlanta will coast to a divisional title, but they also want the No. 1 seed for the National League playoffs. They currently lead the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers by four games, even though the Dodgers have now won 11 straight. Those two teams open September with a four-game series in L.A. Those will certainly be important games for the Braves, and Albies needs to be healthy then to contribute, but he's well on pace to be back before then.