The Braves announced a surprise ahead of Game 4 of the World Series, declaring Dylan Lee their opener against the Astros on Saturday.
Lee, 27, has four major-league appearances, all coming this month. He debuted during the last series of the regular season, pitching twice against the Mets. He’s appeared in two postseason games, allowing one run – a Chris Taylor homer – over 2-2/3 innings.
“He’s been very impressive in the times that we’ve used him, what we’ve seen, ability to throw strikes, his change-up is real,” manager Brian Snitker said. “We could have went many different ways, really, but he has, he’s shown us we can trust him and put some confidence in him.”
The Braves are deploying a bullpen game for Game 4 and Game 5 because of their starting pitching situation. Veteran Charlie Morton broke his leg in Game 1, ending his season. Max Fried and Ian Anderson just made their starts, leaving the next two nights to a parade of relievers.
Snitker didn’t inform Lee that he was getting the nod until Saturday afternoon. It marked his first start since he had 19 starts at Single-A in 2017.
“I didn’t tell him until this afternoon, just for his sake, as much as anything, for what he would have encountered,” Snitker said. “He probably wouldn’t have gotten any sleep because people have been texting him and his phone would have been going off all night.”
Yeah, he was excited. I told him, you don’t need to go five innings, just get some outs. Come out of the bullpen and get some outs is all we’re asking.
Lee will be first up as the Braves try to take a commanding 3-1 lead over the Astros with their second consecutive win at Truist Park. He’s starting against Astros veteran Zack Greinke, who has 530 games under his belt, including 21 postseason contests.
The Braves are 6-0 at home in the postseason.
Braves notes:
- The Braves made a lineup change Saturday, starting Joc Pederson in right field instead of Jorge Soler. Pederson is 9-for-30 (.300) with seven extra-base hits against Greinke. Pederson also played with Greinke with the Dodgers and faced him in-division when Greinke signed with Arizona before the 2016 season.
- Per Braves public relations, this is the latest the Braves have played into a year. Their latest game before Friday was Oct. 28, 1995. The latest the Braves could play this season is Nov. 3, which would be a Game 7 in Houston.
- When Tyler Matzek next pitches, he’ll set the franchise record for most appearances in a postseason. Matzek has pitched 11 times this October, equaling Mark Wohlers’ 1995 run. Nine of Matzek’s appearances have been scoreless. Luke Jackson also could pass Wohlers’ mark. He’s logged 10 appearances.
- Snitker reiterated he’d like to see the universal designated hitter implemented. It’s long been seen as a likelihood in the new CBA. The current agreement expires in December.
“Prior to experiencing it last year, I was kind of like the old guard. I was not for it,” Snitker said. “I am for it now. Because for every Max Fried and Adam Wainwright and Madison Bumgarner, there’s 15 guys who can’t hit. Again, they don’t grow up hitting. They grow up pitching, and they’re not hitting. Most of the time, those guys were some of your better athletes. And when they didn’t pitch, they played shortstop and they batted. They don’t do that a lot now. I enjoyed the games in Houston where I could let all the guys play, and I liked it last year, too. I didn’t know if I would, but I ended up liking it.”
