First look: Padres will face Braves in National League Wild-Card Series (original) (raw)

The Braves are making their way west to Petco Park.

Their path to an NL Wild-Card Series matchup with the Padres has been stressed to say the least, what with losing on Sunday to have to play Monday’s doubleheader in Atlanta, blowing a lead in Game 1 against the Mets and having to squeak through with an 3-0 victory in the nightcap.

That’s not all.

Ace Chris Sale was scratched from starting the second game with back spasms and Atlanta burned through nine pitchers — including two relievers who pitched in both ends — in 18 innings for the right to fly cross country to start the postseason Tuesday against the Padres, the hottest team since the All-Star break.

No. 5 Braves vs. No. 4 Padres

SCHEDULE

(Best of three, all games on ESPN, 97.3 The Fan, XEMO 860)

• Game 1: Braves TBA at Padres RHP Michael King (13-9, 2.95 ERA, 5:38 p.m.
• Game 2: Braves TBA at Padres RHP Joe Musgrove (6-5, 3.88 ERA), 5:38 p.m.
• Game 3 (if necessary): Braves TBA at Padres RHP Dylan Cease (14-11, 3.47 ERA), 4:08 p.m.

WHAT TO KNOW

• Records: Braves 89-73, 2nd in NL East; Padres 93-69, 2nd in NL West
• Head-to-head: The Padres won four out of seven against the Braves, taking three of four in Atlanta in mid-May but dropping two of three in San Diego in the final series before the All-Star break. The Padres outscored the Braves 26-22 in the series.
• Recent postseason history: The Braves are in the postseason for a seventh straight year, which includes a World Series title in 2021. They’ve only advanced past the NLDS one other season in this run (2020). The Padres are in the postseason for the second time in the last three years. They beat the Mets and the Dodgers en route to the 2022 NLCS against the Phillies. As for postseason meetings with the Braves, the Padres beat Atlanta in six games in the 1998 NLCS en route to the organization’s second World Series berth.
• Going to WAR (fangraphs): Braves — LHP Chris Sale (6.4), DH Marcell Ozuna (4.8), LHP Max Fried (3.4), RHP Reynaldo Lopez (3.4), 1B Matt Olson (2.6); Padres — OF Jackson Merrill (5.3), RHP Dylan Cease (4.8), OF Jurickson Profar (4.3), RHP Michael King (3.9), 3B Manny Machado (3.8).
• Health check: LHP Chris Sale was scratched from Monday’s doubleheader start with back spasms and Braves manager Brian Snitker said Sale is not expected to be available in San Diego. The Braves are used to making do. They are in the playoffs despite losing 2023 NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. for the year in May to a left knee injury, 3B Austin Riley to a fractured hand in mid-August and RHP Spencer Strider to a UCL tear in April. Other Braves out for the year include LHP Ray Kerr (Tommy John), LHP Angel Perdomo (Tommy John) and LHP A.J. Minter (hip), while RHP Huascar Ynoa (shoulder) is without a timetable. … For the Padres, SS Ha-Seong Kim has opted for season-ending shoulder surgery and will miss the postseason. One of the options who helped man shortstop during Kim’s absence, INF Mason McCoy, is on the 10-day injured list with back inflammation. RHPs Jhony Brito (elbow), Stephen Kolek (elbow) and Luis Patiño (elbow) are all on the 60-day injured list.

CLUBHOUSE LEADERS

• OPS: Braves — DH Marcell Ozuna (.924), 1B Matt Olson (.790), C Travis d’Arnaud (.738); Padres — OF Jurickson Profar (.839), OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (.833), OF Jackson Merrill (.826);
• Homers: Braves — Ozuna (39), Olson (29), SS Orlando Arcia (17); Padres — 3B Manny Machado (29), Merrill (24), Profar (24).
• RBIs: Braves — Ozuna (104), Olson (98), 2B Ozzie Albies (53); Padres — Machado (105), Merrill (90), Profar (85).
• Steals: Braves — Harris (10), Albies (8), OF Jarred Kelenic (7); Padres — SS Ha-Seong Kim (22), Merrill (16), INF Xander Bogaerts (13).
• Saves: Braves — RHP Raisel Iglesias (34-for-38, 1.95 ERA); Padres — RHP Robert Suarez (36-for-42, 2.77 ERA), LHP Tanner Scott (22-for-24, 1.75 ERA).
• Holds: Braves — RHP Joe Jimenez (27, 2.62 ERA), RHP Pierce Johnson (12, 3.67 ERA), LHP Dylan Lee (9, 2.11 ERA); Padres — RHP Jason Adam (31, 1.95 ERA), RHP Jeremiah Estrada (16, 2.95 ERA), LHP Adrián Morejón (12, 2.83 ERA).

THINGS TO WATCH

• LHP Chris Sale edged RHP Dylan Cease for the NL strikeout title, 225 to 224, and is the presumptive NL Cy Young winner, but Sale hasn’t pitched since Sept. 19, his velocity dipped in that start and he was scratched from Monday’s Game 2 start with back spasms. The Braves’ other co-ace, LHP Max Fried, last pitched on Friday and won’t be on regular rest until Wednesday. The Padres have also historically struggled against Fried (3-1, 2.30 ERA, 31⅓ IP), although they beat him in May with three runs on nine hits and three walks in 4⅓ innings in Atlanta. As a team, the Padres were far worse against lefties this season (.690 OPS) than they were against righties (.764), although they were slightly better after the All-Star break (.700) and excelled against southpaws in the first 19 games of the second half (.841).
• The Braves bullpen finished the season third in the majors with a 3.32 ERA, but they’re hardly in good shape as they arrive in San Diego. Closer Raisel Iglesias threw 20 pitches while pitching twice on Monday and set-up man Joe Jimenez threw 19 pitches across his two appearances. Both threw clean innings in the nightcap after Jimenez allowed three runs without recording an out in Game 1 and Iglesias coughed up two runs in blowing his look at a six-out save. RHP Pierce Johnson then allowed two runs in the ninth on 21 pitches to force the Braves to have to win Game 162 to get into the playoffs. Atlanta’s five most-used relievers all pitched Monday. Even starter Reynaldo Lopez turned in a scoreless inning out of the bullpen in the nightcap.
• Leading the majors in overall ERA (3.49) allowed the Braves to get away with a middling offense weighed down by the crippling loss of several contributors throughout the season. The Braves ranked 15th in runs scored (704) and batting average (.243) and 16th in on-base percentage (.309). They finished inside the top-10 in slugging (.415), with DH Marcell Ozuna doing a lot of the heavy lifting for a lineup that’s missing Acuña and Riley and played long stretches with 2B Ozzie Albies on the injured list. A four-time All-Star, the switch-hitting Albies’ wrist is still not allowing him to swing the way he wants to as a lefty, but that didn’t stop him from diving in five runs on seven total bases in Monday’s doubleheader. He is still hitting .184/.244/.368 in 38 plate appearances since coming off the injured list this month.

CROSS-TOWN CONNECTIONS

• Braves LHP Max Fried, was drafted No. 7 overall by the Padres in 2012 and headlined the prospect package that brought OF Justin Upton to San Diego during General Manager A.J. Preller’s “Rock Star G.M.” winter leading into the 2015 season. Former Padres RHP Pierce Johnson (3.42 ERA, 55⅓ IP) is in his second year in the Braves’ bullpen, while LHP Ray Kerr — flipped to Atlanta in the Matt Carpenter salary dump (he was later released) — is on the injured list. Ben Sestanovich, a former player development director with the Padres, has climbed the ladder in Atlanta to become the team’s assistant general manager in charge of player development. RHP Dylan Cease, grew up in Milton, Ga., about 30 miles north of Atlanta.

Originally Published: September 30, 2024 at 4:08 p.m.