Trade deadline acquisition Tyler Mahle can send Braves to division series

Tyler Mahle will pitch the biggest game of his career at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Truist Park. It will be his first postseason appearance, and he could help the Braves advance to the National League Division Series.

If Mahle and the Braves beat the Phillies, they’ll head to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers starting Saturday.

“Super exciting. No other way to put it,” Mahle said Tuesday. “Super excited to be here and have this opportunity.”

The Braves traded with the Giants for Mahle on Aug. 3. It was an eyebrow-raising deal — not because the Braves went and got one of the best pitchers in baseball, but because Mahle’s overall numbers were less than impressive.

Numbers, of course, never tell the whole story.

Mahle began retooling his pitching arsenal and plan of attack in June and July after returning from a hamstring injury. The Braves front office noticed. They added him to the roster. Braves pitching coach Jeremy Hefner reiterated to Mahle to keep doing what he had been doing and they’d go from there.

And after nine starts, of which only one, his last of the regular season, could be considered poor, Mahle fueled the Braves’ post-deadline run to a division title. He went 4-1 with a 1.99 ERA and 0.96 WHIP. Batters hit just .216 against him.

Along the way, the Braves found their so-called front-line playoff starter, even though the name and the numbers didn’t fit that bill about two months ago.

“(Mahle) has been huge for us,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “He’s provided us with top-of-the-rotation type stuff. Been outstanding. The last (start), had a bit of a tough one, but the other eight were just incredible. Been a big boost to our club. I’m not sure we’re here without him. I can say that about a lot of guys, but he’s one of them.”

Mahle faced the Reds on Thursday at Truist Park. He allowed five earned runs on five hits and two walks over five innings. In the five starts before that day, he allowed only four earned runs combined.

One of those four starts was at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia against the Phillies on Sept. 6. His next start after that was six days later against the Phillies at Truist Park.

Ten innings, one run, three hits, six strikeouts and 10 hits allowed in those two starts.

“Yeah, it was huge. I’ve thought about that the last few days,” Mahle said of the games against the Phillies. “Those were really big games to take the division. I mean, I’ve never pitched in a playoff game, but I can’t imagine it being too much crazier than that. It’s a big game that needed to be won. You need to perform. That’s what playoff baseball is. You’ve got to go out and do your job. We’ll see, but those definitely helped.”

Mahle, on Wednesday, will face Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez, not an easy pitcher to match zeros against, and not an easy assignment in a playoff setting. But the typically mild-mannered Mahle shrugged off the added pressure.