Hey y’all.
The Dream took care of business in their playoff opener. Our forthcoming women’s soccer team has a name and a phoenix-y logo. Tech’s season keeps getting worse. Matthew Stafford is in the new Taylor Swift video. The Falcons are somehow tied for the NFC South lead. The Hawks have media day today.
And with that, our bases are covered.
The rest of this bad boy is all about the Bravos.
WHO’S HOT? WHO’S NOT?
For all the (justified!) hand-wringing over the Braves’ postseason rotation, this is a team that generally finds a way on the mound.
It’s the bats you should hope are humming as Tuesday afternoon’s playoff opener with Philadelphia approaches.
Recent Atlanta history (including 2022 and 2023 series losses to these same Phillies) shows us that offensive stagnation often leads to quick ousters … and the Braves have scored the National League’s sixth fewest runs over the past 30 days.
With that in mind, here’s a quick look at some lineup regulars and how they’ve fared of late.
🔥 Drake Baldwin: A brief postinjury swoon excepted, Baldwin’s been one of the Braves’ most consistent hitters. A .360/.411/.540 slash line over the past 15 days works, too.
🔥 Ronald Acuña Jr.: Sat out two of the Braves’ past five games, and his average dipped a bit, but remains very Acuña-like of late — with seven homers, 20 RBIs and a .538 slugging percentage in his past 30 games.
🥶 Matt Olson: The Braves first baseman’s 41 homers tied for third in the National League, but he’s hitting just .212 over his past 30 games (and .167 over his past seven).
🔥 Michael Harris II: The centerfielder’s .294 season average ranked eighth in MLB. Eighteen hits in his past 12 games will play, too.
🥶 Ozzie Albies: The second baseman posted a disappointing second half, and the numbers of late are actually worse.
🔥 Mauricio Dubón: Posted a .368 average and .926 OPS over the past week. Finished the regular season hitting a silly .321 with runners in scoring position — and even better (.328) with runnings in scoring position and two outs.
🥶 Austin Riley: Evergreen statement alert. The third baseman’s 201 regular-season strikeouts ranked second in the NL (behind only Philly’s Kyle Schwarber).
- He is the only Brave with multiple homers over the past week, though!
🥶 Sean Murphy: He’s a very good defensive catcher, you know?
🥶 Ha-Seong Kim: He’s had a few moments. But when “eight hits over his last 17 games” counts as a heater, you’re in trouble.
Looks a tad unsettling all laid out like that, but the Win Column believes.
We should also point out that Philly is the only NL playoff team to score fewer runs than the Braves over the past month — and its biggest deadline addition, Luis Arraez, may be out of the picture thanks to a severe left ankle sprain.
WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH
It’s a best-of-three series, all at Truist Park. Winner gets the second-seeded Dodgers.
Game times: 2 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday (a little insulting, no?). Thursday’s Game 3, if necessary, will start at either 2 or 8 p.m.
Channel: NBC and the Peacock app.
Broadcasters: NBC is rolling with an analyst from each team, so broadcasts will include the Braves’ CJ Nitkowski. John Kruk will represent the Phillies.
Matt Vasgersian, Joey Votto and Ashley ShahAhmadi (a former Braves TV host) complete the crew.
Local coverage: BravesVision has a postseason preview planned for 7 p.m. Monday, as well as a Game 2 preview at 9 a.m. Wednesday. They’ll also air local postgame shows immediately after the national broadcast.
Bonus baseball: Three other wild card series also start Tuesday: White Sox at Astros (5 p.m.), Red Sox at Yankees (8 p.m.) and Cubs at Padres (10 p.m.).
COME ON. CALL YOUR SHOT
Atlanta finished the regular season 9-4 against the Phillies, outscoring them 66-43. The Braves took both series at Truist Park.
So what’s the final result? Braves in 2? Braves in 3? Those mean old bullies from up North emerging victorious?
🔮 Go ahead and make your prediction for the series (or email to tyler.estep@ajc.com). I’ll keep score.
THE PITCHING SITUATION
The Braves plan to start Chris Sale (2.08 ERA in four starts against Philly this season) and Tyler Mahle in Games 1 and 2, respectively. If Game 3 becomes necessary, the likeliest starter is probably a short-leash edition of Grant Holmes.
The Phillies have a deeper rotation … but their down-to-the-wire wild-card race put them in a bit of a pickle.
As our amigo Michael Cunningham writes in his latest Weekend Reflections, Philly started Zack Wheeler on Sunday. Jesus Lúzardo returned from the injured list and threw an inning in relief (just four pitches, but still). Aaron Nola made an appearance out of the bullpen Saturday, too.
- It’s possible Lúzardo (who absolutely dominated Atlanta earlier this month) returns on little rest.
- Co-ace Cristopher Sánchez (18-7, 2.91) could get bumped up.
- We could also see rookie Andrew Painter, who posted five innings of one-run ball against Atlanta on Sept. 13.
“The Braves outlasted the Phillies to win the NL East,” Cunningham wrote. “Now they’ll reap the rewards of having rested pitchers against them for the wild-card series.”
Philadelphia’s bullpen — 4.43 ERA, 12th best in the National League — is a mess, too.
EYEING SOME UNSUNG HEROES
Postseason success is built on unsung heroes. Accordingly, our friend Gabe Burns put together a list of four Braves role players who could fit the bill.
The part about Didier Fuentes is my favorite:
When Fuentes has his “big” playoff moment — striking out a former MVP, stranded the bases loaded, logging two scoreless innings while combing through the middle of an order — the country will learn what those of us down here already know: The youngster is a budding star.
Fuentes is such an obvious postseason weapon for this team that it feels like cheating to have him listed here. He’s been dynamic all season and held up well despite his unprecedented major league workload. There might be a massive audience that learns who he is in the coming weeks.
The 21-year-old finished with a 2.45 ERA in 58 games. He struck out 92 hitters in 73⅓ innings.
Hadn’t looked at those numbers in a minute. Yeesh.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
I always like where we're at mentally. I think our guys have done a good job weathering the storms this year. Like I said when I told them when we clinched, I think we've been at our best at those times. They're ready to go.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of the Win Column. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.