postseason – Page 2 – Braves Chop Chat

What Needs to Happen for the Braves Coming Down the Stretch:

With less than a month of baseball left, the Atlanta Braves are coming down an important stretch. They have been playing very well throughout the season and especially in the month of August, but the past few series’ for the Braves have been tough. Yes, they have been playing “easier” teams, but for some reason, those teams are always harder wins for the Braves. Atlanta is currently 1.5 games out of first place. Just two days ago they were 0.5 games in first place, but they lost two games that they should have won — unfortunately blown by the bullpen and our offense couldn’t come through.

Pitching wise for the Braves has hit an overall rough patch. Lately, the starting rotation hasn’t been as sharp as we have gotten so used to. Even Atlanta’s ace, Max Fried, has been struggling of late. And as for the bullpen, it is mainly the closer role that is drawing concern. Kenley Jansen either has his good games, super stressful games, or bad games. And lately, he’s had more bad games than good. He blew a game on Sunday against the Seattle Mariners that the Braves should have won. It’s just been a frustrating run for him lately, which leaves some concern for the Braves’ closer role with only a certain amount of games left. And it cannot be overstated how very important these games are.

Offensively, the Braves are still hitting their home runs, and driving runners in, but they are leaving so many missed opportunities. Yes, Atlanta’s offense hits a LOT of home runs, but you can’t rely on those to win ballgames. You have to play small-ball. You have to move runners over, take your walks, and score when you need to score. We have seen the Braves leave the bases loaded with one out or two outs too many times this year, and sooner or later that is going to come back and haunt you when you’re in a close division race and need to win ballgames. What I think needs to happen for the Braves is that they just need to make contact with the ball and be patient at the plate. Make the opposing pitchers work. Take balls, work in the count, and get hits. I feel like some of the Braves players are so focused on hitting home runs or getting that “big hit” that they miss opportunities to score a run or reach base so the next guy can get a hit to score some runs.

Hopefully the Atlanta Braves will work out these little hiccups, and soon. The Braves are a good baseball team and we know what they are capable of. It is just a matter of if they can figure out what is causing these hiccups and improve their weaknesses. I believe they can do this! And, as a glimpse of hope, Ozzie Albies should be returning within the next week or so. His bat will provide some spark in the Braves lineup, not to mention his smile and positive impact on our whole team!

GO BRAVES!!

A Red-Hot August for the Atlanta Braves:

The month of August has been a very good one for the Braves. They have played all-around very good baseball, and have gained significant ground in the NL East.

At the beginning of August, the Braves lost four out of five against the Mets, bringing them 7.5 games out of first place, which caused some concern. However, the Braves did not let that bring them down, and they had a huge bounce back when they played the Mets at home the following week.

Atlanta pitching has been great this month. Charlie Morton has found his groove, Max Fried is continuing to be his superstar self, Kyle Wright has been very good, and Spencer Strider has been downright impressive. Even Jake Odorizzi has had a bounce back…he won his first game as a Brave Monday night against the Pittsburg Pirates.

The bullpen has been lights-out. How the bullpen is pitching right now, is how I have expected it to be since the beginning of the season. Everyone has been able to come in during high-leverage situations and manage to get out of them, while also maintaining close leads late in the games — which is super important especially as we near the postseason.

Offensively for the Braves, they have been extremely impressive. It seems that every game 1-9 in the lineup is contributing some way. Whether it’s a sac-fly to score a run, a groundout to move the runner over, a home run, or a pinch-hit walk-off single – the Braves hitters are getting it done. It’s very fun to watch them come through in ways you’d never expect and get the big hits we need with runners in scoring position.

Also, defensively, Atlanta has been outstanding. When you hear the word “error” and “Atlanta Braves” in the same sentence, it does not sound right. As a team, the Braves had made 56. I know that sounds like a large number, but compared to the Pittsburg Pirates who have made 85 errors in the same amount of games, it’s really not that high. The Atlanta infield is quite impressive. Even Grissom has proved to be quite a good fielder, although he is not near as good as their normal second baseman, Ozzie Albies. And let me just say…if Dansby Swanson does not win the Gold Glove this year, or finish in the top three of Gold Glove voting, he will have been robbed. His defense has been superb all year long!

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The Atlanta braves are just a fun, exciting team to watch! They always put up a fight and don’t give up easily. Coming into today’s game, the Atlanta Braves are 3.0 games out of first place. That is very manageable, as long as the Braves keep winning the majority of games they play, and the Mets lose some, too. 😉

It will be very exciting to see what happens down the stretch come September.

GO BRAVES!!

Michael Harris ll and Vaughn Grissom’s Big Impact With the Braves:

Looking back on the Atlanta Braves at the beginning of the 2022 season, things looked a little different than they do now. Two things that sticks out the most are Adam Duvall was in center field, and Ozzie Albies was at second base. Unfortunately, injury plagued the Braves. On June 12th, against the Washington Nationals, Ozzie Albies broke his foot during a freak accident running out of the batters box, and on July 24th the Braves lost Adam Duvall for the rest of the season after he tore tendons in his hand when he ran into the wall at home against the Los Angeles Angles. It’s also important to remember that the Braves were already without Eddie Rosario for almost all of the first half and some of the second half of the season due to eye surgery.

The Braves brought up Michael Harris ll from the Mississippi Braves (AA) on May 28th. He immediately made an impact with the Braves team. He is very skilled defensively and can cover a TON of ground in center field. Not to mention, there is life in his bat! He always gives Atlanta a quality at-bat, gets good hits, and crushes in the home run ball. And, he is very fast! He hasn’t been thrown out stealing a base yet…he is 13-for-13 in steals so far! He has been very exciting to watch, and I’m sure he will continue to make an impact with the Braves team throughout the rest of the season.

Vaughn Grissom was brought up from the Mississippi Braves (AA) on August 10th. He was brought up because, when the Braves were playing the Red Sox in Boston, Orlando Arcia strained his hamstring in an extra inning game on August 9th. Atlanta does not know when he will be back. However, Grissom made quite the impression for the Braves and Braves country in his debut. His first Major League hit was a two-run home run against the Red Sox and it went over the Green Monster in left field. Grissom has proven he has much power in his bat, and for a young player, he has very good AB’s at the plate and is very good defensively. He is a shortstop by trade so he has a good arm, and is putting up good defensive numbers so far at second base. Obviously he’s not Ozzie Albies, and once Ozzie is ready to return he will be back at second base every single day. But Grissom has been a good fill-in.

A fun fact about both Harris and Grissom is that they were teammates and best friends in Double-A Mississippi. It has been fun to see them both playing for the same Major League team and watch their friendship in the ballpark. They have a super cool handshake and are often caught goofing off in the dugout.

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Hopefully, these two will continue to impress the Braves and bring life to the team for the remainder of the season. The Atlanta Braves are coming down a crucial set of games and they will need their team, both offensively and defensively to be on their A-game. It will be exciting and nerve-racking to watch for sure!

GO BRAVES!!

My Thoughts on the Braves vs. Mets Series:

I think it’s safe to say this series was disappointing, somewhat maddening, and even embarrassing. The Mets beat up on us in the four out of five games we lost, and even in the game we won, it got too close for comfort. Not to mention, when we would score, our bullpen couldn’t maintain that smaller run differential, and we would end up losing. These five games had a very tense, postseason-like atmosphere. Coming into this series we were 2.5 games out of first, now we are 6.5 games out of first. That is terrible. Let’s just hope, when we play the Mets next, August 15th-18th (at home) the Braves will do much better than this unfortunate series in New York.

STARTING PITCHING:

Our starters got pummeled in this series. NONE of them got a win in these 5 games. Out of Kyle Wright, Ian Anderson, Jake Odorizzi, Max Fried, and Spencer Strider, Ian Anderson was the only one who could have qualified for a win, but he couldn’t get through five innings. What was the most frustrating was that our pitchers would make good pitches, then the Mets hitters would make measly contact with them and get rewarded with an infield hit. The New York Mets get the most infield grounders for hits than any other team I have ever seen. Another thing that plagued our starters was the fact that they gave up too many walks. We were basically giving the Mets opportunities to score and they came through almost every single time.

RELIEF PITCHING:

Our bullpen was said to be the best bullpen in the MLB. But in this series, it definitely did not look the part. Even our bullpen’s best, A.J. Minter, Dylan Lee, and Tyler Matzek, struggled against the Mets. The bullpen struggled with inherited runners, they allowed WAY too many of those to score, they struggled with walks, and they failed to get the third out of an inning. Our relievers could come in and get the first two outs just fine, but then they got into trouble while trying to secure the third out. That was very frustrating to watch, and I’m sure it was even more frustrating for the Braves players and staff.

OFFENSIVELY:

Atlanta gave up too many situations in which they could have scored. They had first and third or second and third or even the bases loaded with one out in different situations, but almost every single time they could not come through and score. In game four, we had no problem scoring. Finally, the Braves hitters looked liked themselves in the batters box. But aside from that single game, we were swinging at pitches in the dirt and taking wimpy swings. Then we would get a burst of energy in the 9th inning, but we were either too far out of the game to make a comeback or we couldn’t get enough run support through.

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The Mets are the Braves biggest competitor. We have seven games, all at home, left to play against them. These games are going to make or break us. This time last year our record was 55-55. We are currently at 64-46, so anything is possible. We cannot give up hope yet!

For the Braves, RHP Kirby Yates has been doing rehab games and is expected to return soon. And Ozzie Albies, Atlanta’s sparkplug, has been doing light baseball activity and his return is said to be around late August to mid September. So hopefully, with these two coming back soon for the Atlanta Braves, it will give us the boost we need with 52 games left to play!

GO BRAVES!!

My Thoughts on Braves vs Dodgers Series:

Coming into this series, I knew it was going to be an emotional one for Braves country and for Freddie Freeman. Freddie made his first appearance to Truist Park this year… but in a Dodgers uniform. He was presented with a very touching video to express Atlanta’s appreciation for him, and then he was given his World Series ring. I’ve always known Freddie was an emotional person, but I wasn’t truly aware how emotional he was. During his pre-game interviews he couldn’t contain the sobs, and walking onto the field to get his ring he was red and shaking from emotion.

Although the Braves did not win the series, it was honestly nice to get it over with. And the atmosphere of the games were very much like the postseason. It was definitely a glimpse into the 2022 Postseason if you ask me. 😉

The Atlanta Braves played good ballgames throughout this entire series, but in their losses, leaving runners on base was ultimately their downfall.

In game one, the L.A. Dodgers started off with a bang, scoring two runs in the first against Ian Anderson, and then scoring two more in the fifth. The Braves were unable to score more than one run in a bases loaded situation in the bottom of the sixth. Looking back on this loss, the sixth inning was where the Braves should have scored. They had a great opportunity but were just unable to take advantage of it.

Game two was exciting! The Braves started out scoring early, giving Max Fried a 3-0 lead after five innings. However, Fried got into trouble in the seventh allowing two Dodger runners to score making it a 3-2 game. And then, in the eighth inning, A.J. Minter gave up the tying run on a homer by L.A.’s catcher Will Smith making it a 3-3 game. That tied game didn’t last long though! In the bottom of the eighth inning, Travis d’Arnaud led off the inning with a double, and then Marcell Ozuna followed him with a gigantic home run, making it a 5-3 game. That was all the Braves needed to hold onto the lead and win game two.

It was really nice to see Ozuna get the big home run in game two. He has been seriously slumping at the plate…but hopefully he is coming out of this slump and will provide some pop in the Atlanta lineup.

Game three was frustrating and honestly disappointing. The Braves should have won. Atlanta faced the Dodger’s best pitcher; Tony Gonsolin who came into this game 9-0 on the year. He left the series without a blemish on his record. The Braves were able to score one run on Gonsolin in the sixth and another against Alex Vesia in the seventh. Then, in the ninth inning, the Dodgers tied the game 2-2 against former Dodger, Kenley Jansen. The game went into extra innings.

In the top of the tenth inning, Freddie Freeman had an RBI double down the right field line to give L.A. a 3-2 lead. But, in the bottom of that inning, Matt Olson had an RBI single down the right field line to tie the game back up at 3 apiece.

Darren O’Day pitched the eleventh for Atlanta and he did not do well. He gave up two runs and was not able to finish the inning. The Braves lost that game with final score of Dodgers 5, Braves 3.

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Not only were there some rollercoaster type games in this series, but it was an emotional rollercoaster for Freddie Freeman and Braves Country. Freddie Freeman may no longer be an Atlanta Brave, but he will never be forgotten. Now, the Braves have a new (and very good) first baseman in Matt Olson. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out for the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angelas Dodgers, but I think it’s safe for both teams to say, “See you in October!”

GO BRAVES!

My Offseason Predictions: Who I Think the Braves Should Re-Sign

Now that the World Series is over, it’s now time to start looking into the offseason. 2021 was a very exciting season, especially for the Atlanta Braves! #worldchamps They had a rough start but came through big-time at the trade-deadline. That being so, a lot of the players they acquired are now going to be free agents.

Here’s a look at the Braves 2021-22 free agents:

Ehire Adrianza (SS), Jesse Chavez (RHP), Freddie Freeman (1B), Chris Martin (RHP), Joc Pederson (OF), Tanner Roark (RHP), Eddie Rosario (OF), Jorge Soler (OF), Drew Smyly (LHP), Josh Tomlin- he has a club option (RHP), and Stephen Vogt (C).

There are a lot of names on this list, obviously some stick out more than others. Every single one of these guys on this list helped the Braves get to their World Series title in some way or another, and you would want to keep every single one. But realistically, that won’t happen.

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Freddie Freeman. He is BY FAR the biggest name on this list. It is crazy to think about a Braves team without Freddie. Freeman has been with Atlanta for his entire career, and he has been the face of the team for many years now.. Through the highs and lows, Freddie Freeman has always been here, giving everything he’s got in him to help his team win. Personally, I don’t think the Braves will let Freeman go. Millions of Braves fans would be very disappointed if they did!

The Braves front office has offered Freeman a qualifying offer of 18.4 million dollars for one year. This isn’t another long-term offer like the one Freeman signed back in 2014, so he will most likely reject the offer. However, Freddie has made it very clear he wants to remain with the Braves for the rest of his life, and the front office and the whole team wants that as well. It’s just a matter of time, money, and negotiations.

Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario, Jorge Soler, and Adam Duvall are all outfielders. With Ronald Acuña Jr. expected to come back and play outfield full time in 2022, it wouldn’t make much sense for the Braves to resign all of these players and let them sit on the bench and have an occasional pinch-hit appearance. It wouldn’t be fair to these very talented players, and it would not make the most sense for the team as a whole.

Joc Pederson. Pederson has declined his mutual option with the the Braves and has now become a free agent. Because of this, in my opinion, resigning Pederson is completely off the table for Atlanta.

Adam Duvall. Like Pederson, Duvall also declined his mutual option, but he is still Arbitration-Eligible. With the strong possibility of there being a universal DH in 2022, Duvall, a very powerful hitter, could fill that role for Atlanta. However, he is quite a good defender. He played every single position in the outfield for the Braves, and sometimes he would switch positions during games. He also won his first Gold Glove this year, proving his defense is better than most give him credit for. Duvall has come through for the Braves in the three seasons he has played for them. I think it would make sense for Atlanta to bring him back as an outfielder.

Jorge Soler. This man not only has a big stature, but BIG power. Soler came over to Atlanta after the trade deadline and was huge for the Braves. He brought big-time power to their offense and filled their leadoff spot. He also came through huge in the postseason. He hit a home run that left the Houston Astros ballpark in game six!!! To me, it would make sense for the Braves to resign Soler. Once again, with the strong possibility of the DH, it makes a lot of sense to bring him back to fill that roll. After all, when he was with the Kansas City Royals, he was their DH. And, he isn’t the greatest defender, but he has a very good eye at the plate and a lot of power. I think it would be a great decision for Atlanta to bring Soler on as our DH (should we have one).

Eddie Rosario. Talk about an exciting player! Not only was he the NLCS MVP, he had some other huge moments for the Braves in the short time that he played. After all, the Atlanta Braves front office signed him while he was injured, because they saw his possibility. Yes, he wasn’t known to be a great defender, but he made some very good plays for Atlanta while he was in left field. So, I think it would make sense to resign him with Marcell Ozuna’s legal affairs still up in the air, and not anticipating the Braves to resign him.

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After going through the bigger names on this list, there are still some others on here that proved useful for the Braves: Jesse Chavez and Ehire Adrianza, especially.

Adrianza came through being on the Braves’ bench. He proved he could come off the bench and come up with a clutch hit…which is what your bench players are supposed to do. Johann Camargo was the Braves bench man, but he did not have a single hit for Atlanta this year, so he will start next year in Triple-A Gwinnett. It makes sense for the Braves to resign Ehire to add extra depth to their bench, but if the DH does come to the National League, a bench player wouldn’t necessarily be needed.

Jesse Chavez pitched very well for the Braves in his appearances. He was their opener for a couple games, and got Atlanta out of some tough spots in close games. While a player like Chris Martin is also a free agent and has pitched for Atlanta, Chavez was overall more constant. To me, that gives him the edge on being resigned.

After a review on these players, here is who I think the Atlanta Braves should bring back: Freddie Freeman, Adam Duvall, Jorge Soler, Eddie Rosario, Ehire Adrianza, and Jesse Chavez.

These are just my picks, and of course, I don’t have any say in who the Atlanta Braves bring back. It will be an interesting offseason for the Braves, and hopefully the decisions they make won’t hurt them in the long run!

THE ATLANTA BRAVES: WORLD SERIES CHAMPS!!!

Ahh. This is really happening!!! The Atlanta Braves, despite all the doubters, injuries, and rough times they went through, are the 2021 World Series Champions. It definitely did not come easily for the Braves, but the fight they went through every single game, to get to where they were and to be World Champs, makes this end result even sweeter.

Think about it. The Atlanta Braves were under .500 until after the All-Star Break. They learned they weren’t getting Soroka back, they lost Acuña to a torn ACL, lost Marcell Ozuna due to legal matters, and had Travis d’Arnaud and Huascar Ynoa on the injured list for who knew how long. Did the Braves take that punch in the gut as a defeat? Absolutely not.

Atlanta played even better, stronger, more determined baseball than they had in a long time. Not to mention, the Braves front office went and gained Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, Adam Duvall, and Eddie Rosario to rebuild their outfield and their offense. I cannot say it enough: EVERY SINGLE ONE of those guys came through in a HUGE way for the Braves. Not only during the second half of the regular season, but into and throughout the postseason. From Joc Pederson coming up clutch in the NLDS, Eddie Rosario being the NLCS MVP, Adam Duvall’s great defense and grand slam, to Jorge Soler’s power – earning him the World Series MVP – they all provided exactly what the Braves needed and so much more.

Two Key Factors From the World Series For the Braves:

Relief Pitching:

This Braves relief staff played a HUGE role in this postseason, and, especially, in the World Series. The only Atlanta starter to go more than five innings, was Max Fried in game six. That was the last game they played! That means the bullpen had to cover a lot of middle innings. And those bullpen arms did a fantastic job. Tyler Matzek most notably was very impressive. In the World Series he pitched over five innings, only allowed one run, six hits and ZERO walks. Those are some impressive numbers! Will Smith was also great for the Braves in the World Series. Smith pitched eleven innings, and had an ERA of ZERO. ZERO!! He was lights out for the Braves and that is exactly what Brian Snitker needed out of him. Overall the whole bullpen was good for Atlanta, but these two really stepped up and it played a huge role for the Braves.

Offensive Rallies:

Throughout the 2021 regular season, we would see over and over again the struggles the Atlanta Braves would have trying to get runners in scoring position and actually scoring them. But, as it came October and into the postseason things started clicking for the Braves’ offense. Yes, in the NLDS and into the NLCS, and even some in the World Series, they still had some trouble scoring. However, it was no where near like the troubles they had back in the regular season. The Atlanta Braves scored a total of 25 runs in the World Series. Not to mention, they hit eleven home runs. So yes, we can say that offensively they were quite put together.

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In the end, all of that bullpen pitching and offensive spark led the Braves to a World Series title. But what helped the most to get them there was determination. Knowing how good of a team they are and feeding off of that energy. They chose not to let all of the bad that had happened and the discouraging stats get into their head. They played every game like it was their last, and it paid off tremendously.

Can’t wait for next season!

Atlanta Braves forever and ever!

Go Ozzie! #1

WORLD SERIES GAME ONE: BRAVES WIN

In an amazing start, the Atlanta Braves prove themselves worthy to be in the World Series amidst many naysayers.

Making MLB history, Jorge Soler became the first player in a World Series game to hit a leadoff home run in the first inning. His homer gave the Braves the jumpstart they needed on the Astros.

Who wants a free taco? I know I do! Well, thank to Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies, all of America gets a free taco. Because it is the World Series, and Taco Bell is partnered with MLB they came out with a statement saying “steal a base, steal a taco.” This has been going on for the past four years, and this year, Ozzie Albies stole second base in the first inning of game one against the Houston Astros to give us free tacos on November 4th.

To add onto his stolen base, Ozzie Albies had an all around great game. He reached base a total of three time. Twice via the single and then he reached on an error. Albies also made two great defensive plays. The biggest of those being in the bottom of the first inning. The Astros had bases loaded with two out. Ozzie covered a good amount of ground, made a 360 spin, and threw the runner out at first base to save Atlanta from any more trouble. Ozzie Albies is an all-around great young player, and he definitely showed his worth in game one of this World Series.

Charlie Morton. You can’t say enough about how good he has been for Atlanta this year. He pitched 2.1 scoreless innings for the Braves and then, he had to leave the game. In the third inning, Morton stumbled off the pitchers mound after striking Jose Altuve out. You had to wonder what provoked his pain. In the bottom of the second inning, Yuli Gurriel hit a comebacker off of Charlie’s leg to make the first out of the inning. It looked like no big deal because Morton did not give off any signs that he was in pain. But after that third inning and you could see he truly was in pain, manager Brian Snitker took Morton out of the game to get examined. Charlie Morton will miss the rest of the World Series due to a fractured leg. It’s just awful, that after all the Braves have gone through this season, they can’t get a break from it. However, Atlanta did not let Morton’s early exit keep them from winning, they kept on playing as good as they always do…and that is what’s most important.

This game proved that the Atlanta Braves have what it takes. Even through all the struggles and injuries that they have gone through, they do not give up. When they lost Acuña, they revamped their outfield; when starting pitching wasn’t the greatest, the bullpen stepped up. Over and over this season, and into the postseason, Atlanta has shown its resilience. On the mound, offensively, and defensively the Braves are a great team, and they deserve this spot in the World Series…and they deserve to win.

Game Two of the World Series is tonight at 8:09 ET on Fox.

GO BRAVES!!

BRAVES ARE NL CHAMPIONS!!

Wow. This is really happening!!!! The Atlanta Braves are in the World Series!! Words cannot begin to describe how exciting this is, and I can’t even imagine how pumped the entire Braves team and coaching staff is. The staff has every reason to be this excited because this is Atlanta’s first World Series appearance since 1999. That was 22 years ago! It was HUGE for the Braves to make it to the World Series, but now that they have made it…they have a bigger goal on their minds. 🙂

Where in the world would this team be without Eddie Rosario?!? It’s safe to say that Atlanta would not have had the success in the NLCS that they had without Rosario. He had a total of 14 hits, three home runs, a walk off, and nine RBI’s. That is insane! Rosario came to the Braves as an injured player…he was unable to play. However, this acquisition for the Atlanta Braves came through big time, even if they had to wait a little while before Eddie could actually play. But when he could play for this Braves team, we quickly realized he was worth the wait. Not only could he make some good plays in left field, but man…he can hit! His bat provided some series pop for Atlanta’s offense.

This entire NLCS was huge for the Braves. They were playing the LA Dodgers, who beat them in last year’s NLCS with a disappointing game seven. LA went on to win the World Series in 2020. Brian Snitker’s Braves wanted NONE of that this year. Yes, the Dodgers had gotten Max Scherzer and Trea Turner from the Nationals, and arguably they had one of the best pitching staffs in all of MLB. BUT that did not scare Atlanta. In fact, the Braves’ hitters beat up on all three of LA’s aces –Max Scherzer, Julio Urías, and Walker Buehler. That is very impressive because usually those guys are un-hittable. *Clayton Kershaw was not on the postseason roster due to injury.

The Atlanta Braves had two walk-offs; one in game one by Austin Riley, and the other in game two, by Eddie Rosario. Both walk-off singles came in the bottom of the ninth inning and sent Truist Park into a frenzy! Those were just two of the incredible hits the Braves had in moments where they needed them most.

Starting pitching wasn’t as great as expected, but the bullpen was beyond impressive. Except for the one home run that Luke Jackson gave up to Cody Bellinger in game three, Atlanta’s bullpen was, pretty much lights-out. We have to give SO much credit to Tyler Matzek. Every single time he came out of that bullpen for the Braves, he was on point. You could tell from his expression on the mound and the accuracy of his pitches that he was zoned in. Another pitcher who was great from the bullpen was closer Will Smith. Smith had a rollercoaster regular season as the Braves closer. It seemed that every time he was on the mound, he got himself into a situation that did not look good. He was TOTALLY different in the postseaon. In almost every appearance he was three up, three down. He did give up an occasional walk or single, but nothing too serious or nerve-wracking. Bullpen pitching was crucial to the Atlanta Braves in this series, and the pitchers coming out of our bullpen, did not disappoint.

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It is still hard to grasp that after everything that this Braves team has gone through in 2021 (losing Acuña not getting Soroka back, staying at .500 for the longest time) they did not give up for one second. And now, all that hard work and perseverance has paid off. Atlanta is the National League Champs! They beat the Los Angelas Dodgers in six games, at home in Truist Park, and are now headed to the World Series where they will face the Houston Astros to see who will win the title of World Series Champs.

GO BRAVES!

Braves Advance to NLCS!

Wow. What a series against the Milwaukee Brewers and the Atlanta Braves!! This series was nothing short of amazing. Pitching was great from both teams, offense was hard to come by for the first three games, and then in game four, the Braves won the series and have advanced. And what’s a better way to do it than at your home park with your fans cheering you on??

NLDS Game One: Charlie Morton vs. Corbin Burnes, Braves lost 2-1

This game was a serious pitching duel. In fact, this whole series was a low scoring, pitchers duel. Charlie Morton pitched phenomenal for the Braves. Morton pitched six innings, allowed three hits, gave up two hits, had nine strikeouts and only one walk. He pitched into the seventh inning, and that is where he gave up the two runs that the Brewers scored. They came on a two-run homer by Rowdy Tellez to give them a 2-0 lead. Those two runs were enough to allow Milwaukee to win.

Atlanta got one run on the board in the top of the eighth inning. Joc Pederson came on to pinch-hit. He hit a solo home run to left-center, to make it a 2-1 game. However, that was the only run that the Braves could produce and the Brewers took game one.

Now, the Atlanta Braves had a chance to score in the top of the first inning. They had runners on first and third with no outs. Ozzie Albies was up to bat, and he hit into an unfortunate double play. Brewers first baseman Rowdy Tellez (who later hit the game winning home run) caught a sinking line drive up the foul line to rob Ozzie of at least a single, and then completed the double play with a strong throw to home plate to get Jorge Soler out.

That double play set the tone of the whole game. Both teams knew runs were going to be hard to come by, and that missed run scoring opportunity for Atlanta came back to haunt them when they only lost by one run.

Game Two: Max Fried vs. Brandon Woodruff, Braves won 3-0

With Max Fried on the mound for Atlanta, you are pretty much guaranteed for a good, strong outing. He did not disappoint. Fried pitched six scoreless innings, allowed three hits, zero walks, and struck out nine. Fried only had 81 pitches through his six innings, I was surprised that Brian Snitker did not bring him back out for the seventh inning. But everything worked out in the end.

The Braves came up with a total of three runs. In the top of the third inning, Jorge Soler reached base with a double. Freddie Freeman scored Soler with an RBI single to make it 1-0. To make it a 2-0 lead, Ozzie Albies hit a booming double off the top of right field wall. Getting a good read off the ball, Freeman scored easily. What turned out to be a double, was almost a home run. Albies’ double hit right off the top of the yellow line. But it went back into the field of play, therefore it was not a home run.

In the top of the sixth inning, Austin Riley hit a towering solo home run to make it a 3-0 game. He sent that baseball a long way into straight away center field. That man has some power!

Atlanta’s bullpen was lights out for the rest of the game and backed up Fried’s great outing. This win for the Braves tied the series 1-1.

Game Three: Ian Anderson vs. Freddy Peralta, Braves won 3-0

Ian Anderson took the mound for Atlanta in this game. He pitched five innings, allowed three hits, zero runs, zero walks, and he had six strikeouts. Anderson had a good outing, and he is proving time and time again what a good pitcher he his. Ian could have gone another inning, but he had 84 pitches and, like with Fried, Brian Snitker played it safe and only let him go five innings. And, he gave us a quality start — in a game like this one, that was all that mattered.

Like in game one, the Braves had a good chance of scoring early. In the bottom of the second inning, the Braves had runners on first and second with one out. Austin Riley was on third and Adam Duvall was the runner on first. Travis d’Arnaud was up to bat and he flew out to left field. His fly out was plenty deep enough to score Riley from third so he tagged up. Riley was halfway down the third base line when Duvall decided (on his own) to try and advance to second. Brewers’ left fielder, Christian Yelich saw what Duvall was trying to do, threw to second base, and got Adam Duvall out. That was a huge blow to Atlanta early and it shifted the mood of the game.

Like Atlanta, the Brewers had chances to score but couldn’t pull the trigger. In the top of the fifth inning, Milwaukee had second and third and no one out. They got into a run down between third and home, and then couldn’t come up with any way to score.

Joc Pederson came on to pinch hit for Ian Anderson in the bottom of the fifth. With no one out, Dansby Swanson and Travis d’Arnaud were on base. After a questionable strike two call to give Pederson a 1-2 count, Joc hit an elevated fastball and it left the ballpark in a hurry. His three-run homer went into the Chop House and gave Atlanta a huge 3-0 lead.

Those three runs from Pederson’s home run were all that the Braves’ pitching staff needed. The bullpen was lights out and preserved a 3-0 lead. That gave Atlanta a 2-1 lead in the series.

Game Four: Charlie Morton vs. Erik Lauer, Braves won 5-4

This game was awesome. It was a rollercoaster, though. Scoring was ALL over the place. At some points int the game, when things started looking good for the Braves, the Brewers would come back and take the lead. However, in the end, it was our Atlanta Braves who held on and won, advancing to the NLCS.

Charlie Morton started this game for Atlanta. With him starting on only three days rest, we knew he wasn’t going to go more than five innings. Morton went 3.1 innings, allowed four hits, two runs, one walk, and had five strikeouts. Coming into this, we knew that Charlie was not going to have his best stuff coming off of only three days rest, and there was the chance that Milwaukee’s hitters would see his pitches better since they saw him just three days before. All of this coming into play, Morton did not do a bad job at all, he kept the scoring low, and kept his team in this game.

Coming into the bottom of the fourth inning, the Braves were down 2-0. The Brewers had scored two off of Charlie Morton via two RBI singles. Atlanta, however, did not let that hinder their determination. To lead off the bottom of the fourth inning, Austin Riley had a single. Adam Duvall and Joc Pederson followed him with pop-outs to make two quick outs. Travis d’Arnaud kept the inning alive with a walk, and then Guillermo Heredia was hit by a pitch to load the bases. In this situation, the Braves had a great chance to score…it was just a matter of being able to do it. And they did just that! Eddie Rosario was up to bat. After getting two quick strikes, Rosario hit a line drive single into center field that allowed two runners to score, and tied the game 2-2.

Huascar Ynoa came onto pitch the fifth inning for Atlanta. He started the inning with a single to Christian Yelich, and got a strikeout to make the first out of the inning. Then, he gave up a mammoth two-run home run to Rowdy Tellez, giving the Brewers are 4-2 lead. That home run changed the ENTIRE atmosphere of the ballpark quick. The fans went from being excited because the game was tied, to dead silent because their team was all of a sudden losing again.

Down 2-0 the Braves had to come up with some offense. To start off the bottom of the fifth inning, Freddie Freeman struck out. Ozzie Albies reached base after him on a infield single. Austin Riley walked and then, Adam Duvall was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Joc Pederson grounded into an RBI forceout that allowed Ozzie to score from third, making it a 4-3 game. And then, to tie the game, Travis d’Arnaud had an RBI single that scored Austin Riley and made it a 4-4 game. Once again, the Braves’ fans had something to cheer about!

With the game still tied in the eighth inning, the Milwaukee Brewers decided to bring on their closer Josh Hader. Hader is normally the Brewers closer. I’m not entirely sure why they brought him on to pitch the eighth instead of the ninth inning, but I’m not complaining! 😉 After Hader got two quick outs of Eddie Rosario and Dansby Swanson, Freddie Freeman was up to bat. Freddie wasted no time. On the very first pitch he saw, Freddie hit a solo home run to center field giving the Braves a 5-4 lead.

Immediately after that home run was hit, the entire vibe of the ballpark shifted. The fans were louder than ever, Atlanta’s dugout was ecstatic, and Freddie Freeman, who normally doesn’t show much emotion, was shouting with all of them. His home run was just enough for the Atlanta Braves’ closer, Will Smith, to get the last three outs of the game, record the win, and send the Braves to the NLCS!

—

This series was nothing short of what you would want a postseason series to be like. It was entertaining, stressful, and for the most part, well played. So many things took place to make the Braves win the series, but these are the top three things for me:

Pitching:

Not only was the starting pitching in this series great for Atlanta…but so was the bullpen. The Braves’ bullpen throughout this entire series was lights out. Yes, the relievers would give up a hit here and there, but they did not allow a SINGLE Brewers runner to score. Now that is impressive!

Joc Pederson’s game three home run:

Joc Pederson is one cool player. Not only is he rocking his pearl necklace, but he can hit. In pinch-hitting appearances for the Atlanta Braves in this series, Joc was 3-3. Plus, two of those hits were home runs…one of which won game three for the Braves. That is crazy! Having the kind of depth that Pederson has shown he can bring off the bench is huge for Atlanta. Not only is it important in the regular season to have a good pinch-hitter, it is even more important in a postseason game, when at any point you could face elimination.

Freddie Freeman’s Home Run:

Obviously this was a huge moment in this series. Coming into a tied ballgame, against one of the best closers in baseball, and hitting the game winning home run is definitely a huge moment. Freddie Freeman’s home run against Josh Hader just continues to prove the resilience of the Braves’ team. After they lost Acuña, got the news that Soroka wasn’t going to be able to pitch this year, and losing Marcell Ozuna to legal matters…things did not look good for Atlanta. But did they give up? Absolutely not! They played even better, harder baseball and you could tell there was a purpose behind it. And it took the WHOLE team to do it. Not just two or three players, no. Every single player on the Atlanta Braves’ roster came through in some way or another, and they couldn’t be here with ought them.

And now, they are going into the NLCS with their heads held high and their eyes on the prize. That prize being a 2021 World Series title.

Go Braves!