The Braves took on the Dodgers in the first postseason game at SunTrust Park on Sunday night. They sent Sean Newcomb to the mound one loss from elimination.
His team needed three consecutive wins in the National League Division Series to avoid dropping its ninth straight playoff series, which would be the second-longest skid in MLB history (Cubs, 10).
Here’s what the Braves touched on before the game:
* Manager Brian Snitker explained the difficulties of facing the Dodgers’ lineup, which is rich with platoon possibilities and worth-than-worthy depth pieces.
“They have five guys on their bench that could be everyday players for a lot of teams,” Snitker said. “And the fact that they can just flip a whole lineup like that is -- again, shows the depth and the quality of club that they have.”
Snitker started Newcomb knowing he’d draw a right-handed heavy edition of the Dodgers. He anticipated with a 2-0 lead, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts would plug a few of his right-handed bench guys into the starting lineup.
* Snitker further elaborated on his decision to roll with Newcomb on the brink of elimination. The Braves’ lefty has struggled down the stretch in the second half, though he showed some promise in his two-inning relief appearance in Game 1.
“He’s got a little ride on his fastball,” Snitker said. “He came up with a change-up this year, and that was a big pitch for him. I thought it kept him in counts, got him back in counts. He's got a really good breaking ball, but it doesn't have the consistency that you're looking for yet. But if it's a night when he's on, then that's an added plus.”
* However the series ends, Snitker is proud of how his younger players have handled the atmosphere. He singled out his pitchers – such as Touki Toussaint, Max Fried and Newcomb, who performed admirably in Los Angeles, while crediting Hyun-Jin Ryu and Clayton Kershaw with the team’s offensive ineptness through the first two games.
“I've been pretty impressed with our young guys, honestly,” he said. “Especially the young pitchers that we brought out of the bullpen the first two games all did a really good job of holding the game in check. The offensive players, I don't think it was the big stage or anything like that. I think it had a lot to do with the guys that they faced on the mound had a tremendous amount to do with that.
“But I've been very pleased in how our young guys have handled the situations. I thought they've all stayed in the moment and slowed the game down really well.”
