<img alt="Atlanta Braves v San Diego Padres" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/k_Sxbg50k3Lm6h7vcakodYuLIkI=/0x68:4699x3201/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73624798/2161470435.0.jpg">
Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images
If the Braves can repeat what they did in Petco Park in July, they could be heading to Los Angeles for the weekend. The Atlanta Braves and the San Diego Padres have already faced each other seven times here in 2024 and depending on how this series goes, it’ll take either the perfect baseball number of nine games or possibly ten to decide which one of these teams will be heading to the NLDS to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. While we’re all looking forward to what this Wild Card series has in store, it’s also a good time to take a look back at how the regular season series went between these two teams.
May 17-20, Truist Park
Game 1: Padres 3, Braves 1 (Condensed Game)Game 2: Padres 9, Braves 1 (Condensed Game)Game 3: Padres 6, Braves 5 (Condensed Game)Game 4: Braves 3, Padres 0 (Condensed Game)
So as you can probably surmise from the scores above, this series really did not go well for the Braves at all and honestly when you consider how early it was, it was really the first sign that the cracks were beginning to show with this team. In Game 1, the Braves scored one first-inning run off of a Matt Olson RBI single that plated Ozzie Albies and that was it for them that night. Matt Waldron struck out 10 Braves batters and then San Diego’s bullpen added on eight more. Max Fried only went 4.1 innings in this one and the three runs he gave up ended up being the difference on a rough night at the ballpark.
After Saturday’s originally scheduled game got rained out, the two teams reconvened on Sunday Night Baseball and it was more of the same for Atlanta and probably even worse since the Padres completely shut their offense down and scored nine this time around. Jake Cronenworth, Luis Campusano and Ha-Seong Kim all went deep in this one as the Padres raced out to a 9-0 lead after seven innings. The only thing that kept the Braves from getting shut out was an RBI single from Ozzie Albies. Other than that, this was a forgettable night for Atlanta and it was an especially bad night for Bryce Elder since this was the start that ensured that he would be relegated to spot starter status in 2024.
The two teams played a doubleheader on Monday and it took all the way until the fourth game for the Braves to finally get in the win column against San Diego. This was only after they suffered a massive disappointment in the first part of the doubleheader when they coughed up a five-run lead. Reynaldo López’s solid start went to waste as Joe Jiménez had a nightmare and gave up four runs in the eighth inning when the score was 5-2. San Diego had a sweep in mind but thank goodness for Chris Sale, who proved to be the stopper as he pitched seven shutout innings in the second game of the twinbill in order to finally keep the Padres off the scoreboard. The bullpen held up their end of the bargain, the shutout was complete and the series was salvaged with a win.
July 12-14, Petco Park
Game 1: Braves 6, Padres 1 (Condensed Game)Game 2: Padres 4, Braves 0 (Condensed Game)Game 3: Braves 6, Padres 3 (Condensed Game)
By this point in the season, the Padres had not begun their resurgence that brought them ultimately to within striking distance of winning the NL West. At this stage in the season, the Padres were still floating around .500 and looking for some type of spark. That spark did not come against the Braves, who ended up getting revenge for the beating they took back home when these two teams first met.
Spencer Schwellenbach’s best performance of his rookie season to that point came against the Padres in the series opener. Schwellenbach went seven innings and only gave up three hits and the solitary run that San Diego scored. Meanwhile, Atlanta set the record straight with Matt Waldron, as they tagged him for four runs over seven innings. Marcell Ozuna hit two homers in this game as he was in the midst of a serious heater.
San Diego got their lick back in the very next game, as they ended up knocking around Reynaldo López to the tune of 11 hits and three runs over the course of three innings. Dylan Cease also pitched six innings but he kept the Braves off the scoreboard in each of those innings and San Diego’s bullpen followed suit in order to complete the shutout. It might have been “just” a 4-0 win for the Padres but the scoreboard certainly flattered the Braves in this one.
Fortunately, Atlanta was able to bounce back the very next day as they ended up being the ones who went into the All-Star break on a high note. Once again, Chris Sale served as the stopper and he pitched five strong innings where the only run he gave up came from a Xander Bogaerts RBI single. Atlanta eventually pulled ahead in the middle innings and the big hero of the day was Travis d’Arnaud, who became the second Braves hitter in this series to hit two homers in one game. He went deep in the sixth inning to make it a 5-1 game and then his homer in the eighth inning pushed the lead back up to three runs after the Padres came alive for two runs in the seventh. The Braves held on and ended up winning the series — things were looking up for Atlanta and the Padres were seemingly going nowhere fast.
Remember when I said that the spark for San Diego didn’t come against the Braves? Well, maybe it did because from that point forward, the Padres went an MLB-best 43-20 in the second half of the season in order to turn their year around and get into the Postseason. Meanwhile, the second half for the Braves was a bumpy one where Atlanta went from being a virtual Postseason lock to having to fight for their Postseason lives up until and through the final day of the regular season. The Braves did just enough to stay alive while the Padres roared back to life in order to flip things around.
San Diego will also be entering this series looking to ensure that they get another crack at their hated rivals in LA after the Dodgers denied them of the NL West title. I’m not going to say that the Braves are simply happy to be here since we’ve seen over the past couple of seasons that the six-seed appears to be the seed to be when it comes to this current Postseason format but it’ll be very tough for this team to make it happen since they’ll be missing Chris Sale for the entire Wild Card series. Sale did very well against the Padres this season so matchup-wise, it’s a pretty tough loss to take.
With that being said, the Braves have morbidly grown used to losing star players and somehow keeping it pushing here in 2024, regardless. Atlanta also went into this stadium and won a series — though that was before the Padres made their revival and as we all know, baseball parks turn into completely different venues once the switch from “regular season” to “Postseason” gets flipped. So while the Braves do have a small sample of success at Petco Park in 2024 to look back on, that won’t matter once this series gets going tonight. What matters is whether or not this Braves team will be ready for the quick turnaround against a Padres team that has been rolling since the All-Star break.
<img alt="Atlanta Braves v San Diego Padres" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/k_Sxbg50k3Lm6h7vcakodYuLIkI=/0x68:4699x3201/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73624798/2161470435.0.jpg">
Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images
If the Braves can repeat what they did in Petco Park in July, they could be heading to Los Angeles for the weekend. The Atlanta Braves and the San Diego Padres have already faced each other seven times here in 2024 and depending on how this series goes, it’ll take either the perfect baseball number of nine games or possibly ten to decide which one of these teams will be heading to the NLDS to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. While we’re all looking forward to what this Wild Card series has in store, it’s also a good time to take a look back at how the regular season series went between these two teams.
May 17-20, Truist Park
Game 1: Padres 3, Braves 1 (Condensed Game)Game 2: Padres 9, Braves 1 (Condensed Game)Game 3: Padres 6, Braves 5 (Condensed Game)Game 4: Braves 3, Padres 0 (Condensed Game)
So as you can probably surmise from the scores above, this series really did not go well for the Braves at all and honestly when you consider how early it was, it was really the first sign that the cracks were beginning to show with this team. In Game 1, the Braves scored one first-inning run off of a Matt Olson RBI single that plated Ozzie Albies and that was it for them that night. Matt Waldron struck out 10 Braves batters and then San Diego’s bullpen added on eight more. Max Fried only went 4.1 innings in this one and the three runs he gave up ended up being the difference on a rough night at the ballpark.
After Saturday’s originally scheduled game got rained out, the two teams reconvened on Sunday Night Baseball and it was more of the same for Atlanta and probably even worse since the Padres completely shut their offense down and scored nine this time around. Jake Cronenworth, Luis Campusano and Ha-Seong Kim all went deep in this one as the Padres raced out to a 9-0 lead after seven innings. The only thing that kept the Braves from getting shut out was an RBI single from Ozzie Albies. Other than that, this was a forgettable night for Atlanta and it was an especially bad night for Bryce Elder since this was the start that ensured that he would be relegated to spot starter status in 2024.
The two teams played a doubleheader on Monday and it took all the way until the fourth game for the Braves to finally get in the win column against San Diego. This was only after they suffered a massive disappointment in the first part of the doubleheader when they coughed up a five-run lead. Reynaldo López’s solid start went to waste as Joe Jiménez had a nightmare and gave up four runs in the eighth inning when the score was 5-2. San Diego had a sweep in mind but thank goodness for Chris Sale, who proved to be the stopper as he pitched seven shutout innings in the second game of the twinbill in order to finally keep the Padres off the scoreboard. The bullpen held up their end of the bargain, the shutout was complete and the series was salvaged with a win.
July 12-14, Petco Park
Game 1: Braves 6, Padres 1 (Condensed Game)Game 2: Padres 4, Braves 0 (Condensed Game)Game 3: Braves 6, Padres 3 (Condensed Game)
By this point in the season, the Padres had not begun their resurgence that brought them ultimately to within striking distance of winning the NL West. At this stage in the season, the Padres were still floating around .500 and looking for some type of spark. That spark did not come against the Braves, who ended up getting revenge for the beating they took back home when these two teams first met.
Spencer Schwellenbach’s best performance of his rookie season to that point came against the Padres in the series opener. Schwellenbach went seven innings and only gave up three hits and the solitary run that San Diego scored. Meanwhile, Atlanta set the record straight with Matt Waldron, as they tagged him for four runs over seven innings. Marcell Ozuna hit two homers in this game as he was in the midst of a serious heater.
San Diego got their lick back in the very next game, as they ended up knocking around Reynaldo López to the tune of 11 hits and three runs over the course of three innings. Dylan Cease also pitched six innings but he kept the Braves off the scoreboard in each of those innings and San Diego’s bullpen followed suit in order to complete the shutout. It might have been “just” a 4-0 win for the Padres but the scoreboard certainly flattered the Braves in this one.
Fortunately, Atlanta was able to bounce back the very next day as they ended up being the ones who went into the All-Star break on a high note. Once again, Chris Sale served as the stopper and he pitched five strong innings where the only run he gave up came from a Xander Bogaerts RBI single. Atlanta eventually pulled ahead in the middle innings and the big hero of the day was Travis d’Arnaud, who became the second Braves hitter in this series to hit two homers in one game. He went deep in the sixth inning to make it a 5-1 game and then his homer in the eighth inning pushed the lead back up to three runs after the Padres came alive for two runs in the seventh. The Braves held on and ended up winning the series — things were looking up for Atlanta and the Padres were seemingly going nowhere fast.
Remember when I said that the spark for San Diego didn’t come against the Braves? Well, maybe it did because from that point forward, the Padres went an MLB-best 43-20 in the second half of the season in order to turn their year around and get into the Postseason. Meanwhile, the second half for the Braves was a bumpy one where Atlanta went from being a virtual Postseason lock to having to fight for their Postseason lives up until and through the final day of the regular season. The Braves did just enough to stay alive while the Padres roared back to life in order to flip things around.
San Diego will also be entering this series looking to ensure that they get another crack at their hated rivals in LA after the Dodgers denied them of the NL West title. I’m not going to say that the Braves are simply happy to be here since we’ve seen over the past couple of seasons that the six-seed appears to be the seed to be when it comes to this current Postseason format but it’ll be very tough for this team to make it happen since they’ll be missing Chris Sale for the entire Wild Card series. Sale did very well against the Padres this season so matchup-wise, it’s a pretty tough loss to take.
With that being said, the Braves have morbidly grown used to losing star players and somehow keeping it pushing here in 2024, regardless. Atlanta also went into this stadium and won a series — though that was before the Padres made their revival and as we all know, baseball parks turn into completely different venues once the switch from “regular season” to “Postseason” gets flipped. So while the Braves do have a small sample of success at Petco Park in 2024 to look back on, that won’t matter once this series gets going tonight. What matters is whether or not this Braves team will be ready for the quick turnaround against a Padres team that has been rolling since the All-Star break.
Link to original article
