SAN DIEGO – The Braves will start AJ Smith-Shawver in Tuesday’s Game 1 of their wild card playoff series against the Padres at Petco Park.
Smith-Shawver only made one big-league start this year. He threw 4-1/3 scoreless innings at Wrigley Field, but strained his left oblique in the process. For Triple-A Gwinnett this season, Smith-Shawver posted a 4.86 ERA over 87 innings.
The other option seemed to be Bryce Elder, who also made the wild card roster. The Braves instead went with the hard-throwing Smith-Shawver, who features an upper-90s fastball, a slider, a curveball and a changeup.
Tuesday will be Smith-Shawver’s first postseason start. Last year, he allowed three runs over 2-2/3 innings in a loss in Philadelphia in the National League Division Series.
Smith-Shawver last pitched on Sept. 22 for Gwinnett. He gave up five earned runs over six innings, but struck out 10 batters. He surrendered one run over six innings on Sept. 15, four runs over seven innings on Sept. 7 and no runs over five innings on Sept. 1.
Smith-Shawver should get more swings and misses than Elder, which could be key against San Diego’s relentless lineup. The Braves always could use Elder, especially because their bullpen might be tired after Monday’s doubleheader.
