Braves Report: Picking a playoff opponent

Greetings, friends. Here’s the state of play heading into the final weekend of the regular season:

• The Phillies currently own the third National League wild-card spot and the pleasure of playing the Braves in Round 1 of the playoffs.
• But they’re just one game behind the Cubs, who are one game behind the fourth-seeded Padres.
• The Diamondbacks are also lurking, two games back of Philadelphia and not eliminated yet … with a series against the Padres on deck.

Anything can still happen, basically.

So Chad’s here to discuss which of three likeliest matchups we might prefer.

OPPOSITION OPTIONS

Phillies infielder Luis Arráez tags (and hugs) Ronald Acuña Jr. during a recent game. (Erik S. Lesser/AP)

By Chad Bishop, Braves beat writer

It’s time for playoff baseball.

The Braves begin the National League wild-card series on Tuesday at Truist Park. What time? To be announced. Against whom? To be determined.

While the Braves finish the regular season against the Marlins in Miami, they’ll be keeping a close eye on the NL standings. Here’s a closer look at each of the possible playoff opponents and why the matchup may be favorable … or not.

Chicago Cubs

👍 Yes, the Cubs recently took two of three from the Braves at Wrigley Field. But beneath the surface of those results was the Braves’ offense taking some quality hacks against a suspect Chicago bullpen, with Braves starting rookie JR Ritchie and Reynaldo López (who left his outing with a shoulder injury) in two of the three matchups.

• The Cubs had the NL’s ninth-best ERA among starting pitchers, which seems to indicate they wouldn’t present the toughest of matchups relative to their playoff peers.

👎 A few weeks ago at Wrigley Field, the Braves saw exactly how Pete Crow-Armstrong, an NL NVP candidate, can carry the Cubs. The star center fielder went 7-for-14 from the plate, hit three homers, drove in seven runs, stole a base, tripled, doubled, scored four times and drew a walk against the Braves. His presence alone is worrisome enough, but part of a lineup that has Alex Bregman and Seiya Suzuki?

Eep. The Cubs led the NL in home runs, RBIs, walks and slugging percentage.

San Diego Padres

👍 In a three-game sweep of the Braves in June at Petco Park in San Diego, the Padres didn’t have to face Atlanta ace Chris Sale, or the new-look Tyler Mahle, who has been the Braves’ trade deadline steal. It was also a month in which the Braves were playing their worst baseball — June was the team’s only losing month this season. In July, the Braves took three of four from the Padres at Truist Park and seemed to exorcise some old demons against the Brown and Gold.

• The Padres are also outside the top 10 in the NL in batting average.

👎 The Padres have been one of the hottest teams in baseball the last two months. After a 17-11 record in August, the Padres are 15-5 in September ahead of a Thursday game against the NL West champion Dodgers.

• San Diego swept the Braves in June and took six of seven against them in 2025.
• They also swept the Braves in two playoff games in 2024.

The rotation of Michael King, Casey Mize, Walker Buehler and Robbie Ray would not be a cakewalk to navigate for Atlanta’s streaky offense.

Philadelphia Phillies

👍 The Braves went 9-4 against the rival Phillies this season, including an April sweep at Citizens Bank Ballpark and a four-game split in early September in Philadelphia. There seems to be some sort of mental edge for the Braves in this matchup, especially after Sept. 12’s game in which Bryce Harper pimped a first-inning homer at Truist Park — then the Braves won, 12-2.

👎 How the Phillies have limped into the postseason, and how they fared against the Braves this summer, may mean bupkis when considering the Philadelphia pitching staff. They still have Cristopher Sánchez and Zack Wheeler fronting the rotation, and Jesús Luzardo waiting in the wings if he can return from the injured list. That’s not a favorable matchup for any team in a short series.

And, of course, Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Luis Arráez could provide just enough offense in a close postseason contest.

Thanks, Chad. Lots to consider over the next few days … but I think I’d prefer the Phillies.

QUICK, SOME OTHER NEWS!

⚡ Don’t freak out, but starter Martín Pérez is back on the injured list with lower back inflammation and Tyler Mahle put up his first real stinker as a Brave on Thursday.

• Grant Holmes now seems like the likely option to start a postseason Game 3.

⚡ Fun column alert: When Braves manager Walt Weiss was a high school football coach.

⚡ Setup man Robert Suárez surrendered one run in his one-inning return to the Braves bullpen on Wednesday. He didn’t pitch Thursday.

⚡ Fast-rising, do-it-all outfielder Eric Hartman is your Braves Minor League Player of the Year, according to Baseball America.

⚡ The Mets removed the interim tag from manager Andy Green, signing him to a three-year deal. They seem to like him up there, so surely it will go great!

MORE CHRIS SALE ABSURDITY

Chris Sale (center) leaves Wednesday’s game after striking out his 200th batter of the season. (Erik S. Lesser/AP)

We’ll talk more about the latest rotational ramifications on Monday, when a playoff-centric edition of the Win Column hits inboxes (including yours … consider it a special delivery).

But can we praise Chris Sale a bit first?

The old man’s 2026 mastery cannot be understated. A few stats pulled straight from Chad’s coverage:

📈 Sale’s 10 strikeouts against the Reds gave him five double-digit strikeout games in 2026 and 96 for his career (the fifth-most in MLB history).

📈 He finished with a 2.16 ERA, his lowest since 2018 (2.11), and a 0.98 WHIP.

📈 Since 1921, only four pitchers age 37 or older have posted an ERA lower than Sale’s 2.16: Justin Verlander (1.75 in 2022); Roger Clemens (1.87 in 2005); Dazzy Vance (2.08 in 1928); and Spud Chandler (2.10 in 1946).