The Braves are a more confident team this time around.
A key storyline leading into the National League Championship Series, which begins Monday in Arlington, Texas, is how much the Braves have grown since they last faced the Dodgers in the 2018 postseason. The Dodgers eliminated them in four games from the NL Division Series.
“That was two years ago; we’re a whole different team,” Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “We’re really, really strong. In 2018, we were just excited to make it. We flipped the script of our record from 72-90 to 90-72 in a year. We were thrilled. This is a completely different story. We know we have a really good team. We’re still missing a piece or two with (Mike) Soroka down, but we like our chances. We’ve been playing really well. Everyone said our starting pitching was going to be our weak link and that’s obviously been the strongest part of this postseason so far. Hopefully, as an offense, we can catch up to our starting pitching and give it a good shot.”
Aside from being more experienced, Freeman is right that the roster is much stronger. The Braves’ offense was roughly the Dodgers' equal. The Dodgers led the majors in runs scored — the Braves finished second with one fewer run. The Dodgers led the majors in homers — the Braves were second. The Braves and Dodgers tied with a .483 slugging percentage to lead the bigs, but the Braves had a better OPS.
No one has outpitched the Braves this postseason. They own a 0.92 staff ERA opposed to the Dodgers’ 2.00. Both teams are 5-0 entering the best-of-seven series. It isn’t a heavyweight versus an upstart this time.
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
“Our offense has a lot more firepower, by design,” general manager Alex Anthopoulos said. “And our bullpen is much deeper than it was back then if you compare the rosters (2020 and 2018)."
Braves manager Brian Snitker said: “I thought when we faced them the last time, and I said it afterwards, we weren’t as strong as they were. We’ve made a lot of progress in that regard. We’re a better club now. We’re more well-rounded. We’re a stronger team than we were two years ago. Our offense, the bullpen, what we’ve seen out of the young starters is pretty good, too. We feel like we’re a lot better than we were two years ago.”
We’ll find out this week just how much the Braves have closed the gap.
Notes ahead of Game 1:
- The Braves announced their first three starters for the NLCS. Fried, Ian Anderson and Kyle Wright will pitch in that order, as expected. Fried will oppose Dodgers' right-hander Walker Buehler in Game 1, while Anderson will face lefty Clayton Kershaw in Game 2. The Dodgers haven’t announced their Game 3 starter.
- A question that will loom large later in the series: How willing will the Braves be to bring back Fried or Anderson on short rest? The Braves have just three established starters — Game 4 will likely be Huascar Ynoa or Bryse Wilson leading a bullpen game — and without any off days, it’s not an easy situation to navigate.
“We’re open to anything,” Anthopoulos said. “Players' health is always the No. 1 priority, so assuming that checks out with the trainers and players themselves, and it depends on how much they were used the first time. If they had a 70-pitch outing, that’s much different than throwing 105, for example. Did they labor? … Where are you in the series? How do things look with your bullpen?”
Snitker echoed the similar: “It depends on how we get there. We’ve been saying that all year. You have to let the temperature of the game dictate the next move. We’ll see. They’re all healthy and none of them have been overworked. They’re all capable of doing that. I think you have to see how you get there before you make that determination.”
- The cavernous Globe Life Field won’t prompt Snitker to make any changes to his outfield. The Braves have been deploying Adam Duvall, Ronald Acuna and Nick Markakis in their outfield, and that won’t change in Game 1 Monday.
“I like the options we have out in the outfield,” Snitker said. “It’s a very good defensive outfield. I don’t think it’ll change anything. I don’t think we’re going to put anyone out there specifically.”
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
- Anthopoulos had high praise for Acuna, who’s continued to perform on the postseason stage since his memorable grand slam in Game 3 for the Braves against the Dodgers in their previous playoff meeting.
In 14 postseason games, Acuna has hit .304/.400/.607 with six doubles, one triple, three homers and eight RBIs. He’s scored six runs.
“He’s a superstar player,” Anthopoulos said. “He’s never been fazed by anything since he’s been called up. You expect great players to be great, but there’s no doubt in my mind that the moment (is never too big for him. He has that in him, I’m not surprised at all (by his postseason success).”
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