Before the Braves began their workout Wednesday, manager Brian Snitker, first baseman Freddie Freeman, outfielder Ronald Acuna and Game 1 starter Dallas Keuchel spoke with the media.
The Braves and Cardinals begin the best-of-five NLDS on Thursday at SunTrust Park. Game 3 and a potential Game 4 will be in St. Louis. A winner-take-all Game 5 would be in Atlanta, if necessary.
• Among Snitker’s announcements was that pitcher Julio Teheran, the team’s six-time opening-day starter, will not be on the NLDS roster. He was bumped from the shortened rotation and didn’t make the cut as the long reliever, the role in which Josh Tomlin has served all season.
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“Actually that was probably the toughest decision we had in putting this roster together is because we feel like with the injuries to our position players, we’re going to go with a six-man bench and 11-man pitching staff,” Snitker said. “And there was a lot of tough discussion the last two days and with the guys that were going to start, how the bullpen is configured that we left Julio off — not to say that if we happened to advance to the next round that that could all change.
“But right now for this series, we’re just going to go with one potential long man, which would be Josh Tomlin. And like I say, that was a tough a decision as I’ve ever been a part of in my baseball career.
Freeman, when asked about Teheran, echoed Snitker in how difficult it is seeing the long-time rotation staple sit out the series.
“It’s tough,” Freeman said. “I actually texted him earlier today and just to let him know that I care about everything he’s done this year and everything he’s done every year and what he means to not only this team but this organization.
“We wouldn’t be in the playoffs without him. He threw up a 3.6, 3.7 ERA this year. It’s very hard to do. It’s tough. He’s been with me since this all started back in the day in 2011. He’s seen this thing through the hard times, too. It's definitely tough. But if we’re lucky enough to go on, hopefully he’ll be on the next one.”
• Keuchel will start Game 1, followed by Mike Foltynewicz and Mike Soroka. Max Fried is tentatively set to start Game 4, but Snitker stressed that could change depending on where the series stands and if Fried was used in a relief capacity in one of the previous games.
The team had announced Keuchel as its starter Tuesday, meaning its $13 million signing in June has the chance to bolster his already extensive postseason resume before re-entering the market this winter.
“That's why we got this guy,” Snitker said of Keuchel. “We went out and signed him because he brought instant credibility. He's been through this war. He's a World Series champion. And I think when we signed him, we envisioned him making this opening start.”
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“When you have a guy on the mound who has been in the World Series and won a World Series, pitched Game 1, pitched in winner-take-all in the wild-card game against the Yankees, we have a lot of confidence,” Freeman said.
Keuchel has a 3.31 ERA with 48 strikeouts against 16 walks in his 10 postseason appearances (51-2/3 innings). He won a World Series with the Astros in 2017.
In 2019, Keuchel’s first season with an organization other than Houston, he posted a 3.75 ERA while striking out 91 and walking 39 across 112-2/3 innings (19 starts). The Braves signed him seeking stability for their rotation as it became clear the offense was more-than worthy of the postseason.
And they brought him in for this month. Keuchel gives the Braves the tested veteran they otherwise lacked atop their rotation.
“When I got my first taste in ’15 of the playoffs, it was like getting that most favorite toy on Christmas, like your most favorite toy ever,” Keuchel said. “And once you play in the postseason, you don’t want to miss out on it anymore.
“I just take it like any other game, but at the same time you know how valuable it is. You know how much is riding on the games.
“But at the end of the day, I don't want to let my teammates down. And I don’t want to let the fans, the organization, down. I know they put a lot on me to start games, to — whatever it is, come in the middle of the game or finish a game, and that’s just the way I look at it. I don’t want to look over my right or left shoulder and see guys packing up. The only time I want to pack up is after the World Series and we've won it.”
• Snitker referred to Foltynewicz as the “hot hand.” The 2018 All-Star regained his form since returning from a stint in Triple-A. Foltynewicz posted a 2.65 ERA with a 55:17 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his last 10 starts, turning a potential lost season into a feel-good story.
The Soroka decision traces back to splits. Soroka, 22, was clearly the ace of the team through the regular season. But he did his best work on the road, where the All-Star led MLB with a 1.55 ERA.
Consider Soroka’s splits: His ERA balloons to 4.14 at home. His strikeout-to-walk ratio on the road is 78:23 in 16 starts; at SunTrust Park it’s 64:18 in 13 starts.
He'll take the mound Game 3 Sunday in St. Louis.
“Soroka, quite honestly, as we went over this as a staff, an organization, we felt we could go any one of a few different ways and be OK,” Snitker said. “You look at Soroka home and the road splits, and it hits you right between the eyes. So, like I say, I think we could have went any one of a few different directions in putting this rotation together. And I think everybody would have felt really good about however we went.”
• Rookie Austin Riley, who invigorated the Braves in spurts with his slugging prowess, won’t be on the roster. The Braves instead opted for Rafael Ortega, giving them another left-handed bat on the bench.
“It’s Ortega, mainly because we're just lacking a left-handed bat on the bench,” Snitker said. “He’s done a really good job for us and maybe it was just more of that. Just having a left-hander on the bench.”
Since returning from a partially torn LCL in early September, Riley hit .132/.190/.263 with only one homer in 14 games. He struck out 18 times in 38 at-bats.
Ortega, 28, hit .205 with two homers in 34 games. He spent most of the year in Triple-A, where he belted 21 homers. He joins Adeiny Hechavarria and Billy Hamilton as had-you-told-me-in-March-I-wouldn’t-believe-you postseason bench additions.
• The Braves and Cardinals will open the series at 5:02 p.m. Thursday at SunTrust Park. Game 2 is set for a 4:37 p.m. start Friday at SunTrust Park before the teams take Saturday off for a travel day as the series shifts to St. Louis.
Game 3 is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. Sunday and Game 4 (if necessary) is set for Monday. Should the series need a Game 5 to determine which team advances to the National League Championship Series, that would come Wednesday at SunTrust Park.
The winner of the series will face the winner of the Dodgers-Nationals series in the best-of-seven NLCS for the right to represent the National League in the World Series.
