For the second consecutive day, the Braves are starting a rookie in the World Series. This time, it’s in a potential clincher.
Left-hander Tucker Davidson was announced as the Braves’ starter for Game 5 against the Astros. The Braves, who lead the series 3-1, would win their second championship since moving to Atlanta with a victory.
Davidson, 25, has only five major-league outings under his belt. He impressed in four starts earlier this season, posting a 3.60 ERA, but his campaign was interrupted by a forearm strain. Davidson didn’t appear in another major-league game and made one appearance at Triple-A Gwinnett on Oct. 3.
“He’s going to start the game, and we’ll just go with him as long as he’ll let us take him,” manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s pretty much like Kyle (Wright), just the progress he had made in Gwinnett. He’d had some outings, was throwing the ball well, feels good, got stretched out. Like I say, very similar to the discussions we had about Kyle.”
The southpaw was added to the World Series roster when veteran Charlie Morton broke his leg during his Game 1 start. Davidson now has the opportunity to join Tom Glavine as Braves pitchers to start a World Series clincher in Atlanta.
Lefty Dylan Lee was the Braves’ opener in Game 4, recording one out in his fifth career appearance. Davidson has more innings under his belt, but is likewise getting thrown into a situation he couldn’t have foreseen.
“I called (Davidson) this morning (to tell him he’s starting),” Snitker said. “Again, these young guys that are going through this for the first time, for their benefit, like I said with Dylan yesterday, I know their phones have been blowing up and would be and processing a lot. I called Tucker, and he was: Let’s do it. He’s ready. He’s another one that he’s been through all the levels of all our organization, and we really liked what we saw out of him early in the year before he had his problems.”
The Astros are starting left-hander Framber Valdez in Game 5. Valdez surrendered five runs on eight hits in Game 1.
