<img alt="Wild Card Series - Atlanta Braves v San Diego Padres - Game 1" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/LUyjgxhfsWe-YbZ6ngdGfXpC36s=/0x0:5826x3884/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73626913/2176014077.0.jpg">
Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
The Braves will be playing their 7th game in 6 days tonight, including their 2nd elimination game. Let’s take a look at the availability of their relief corps. It’s been some kind of week for the Atlanta Braves.
In case life has thrown you under some proverbial rock, I’ll give you a somewhat brief recap. Hurricane Helene postponed two pivotal games vs. the Mets, so instead of playing last Wednesday and Thursday, they had to play two games on Monday before flying across the full length of the United States of America to start the post season on Tuesday in San Diego. It turned out that all five of the games the Braves played in the four days preceding the beginning of the postseason were essential for the Braves to try and win, leaving the bullpen overworked and five starting pitcher options out of the picture for game one on Tuesday and three starting pitcher options unavailable for the Wild Card series entirely. Thankfully, that was the extent of what went wrong, right? RIGHT?!
Wrong. The Braves ace and likely NY Cy Young Chris Sale, who was expected to start Game 2 of Monday’s doubleheader if the Braves needed to win (which they did), has reportedly been dealing with back spasms. Not only was he unavailable on Monday, but he was left off the Wild Card roster altogether. This meant the Braves had to roll out their 7th best SP option in Game One of the playoffs after Fried, Reynaldo, Morton, Schwellenbach, and Holmes were used from Friday-Monday. Technically, it was their 8th best SP option in the organization when you remember that they lost their Opening Day starter Spencer Strider in the 2nd week of the season.
So, unsurprisingly, the Braves dropped Game One of the Wild Card Series. AJ Smith-Shawver was roughed up for 3 earned runs in 1.1 IP, and while the bullpen actually kept them in the game the rest of the way, the offense showed zero signs of life against a historically dominant Michael King.
Tonight, the Braves are sending Max Fried to the mound in a win-or-go-home game. Fried has been brilliant of late, posting a 2.39 ERA and 2.82 FIP in his past 8 starts. He’s coming off one of his best performances of the season – 8.2 shutout innings with 9 strikeouts vs. the Royals. The Braves will be looking for more of the same from both Fried, and furthermore, they will be hoping that this isn’t the last game that he pitches in a Braves uniform.
Wednesday will be game two of the playoffs for the Braves, but it will also be their 7th game in the past 6 days. The bullpen had to cover 7.2 IP yesterday after playing a doubleheader on Monday. Suffice it to say, the recent workload for the bullpen as a whole has been immense. Take a look:
(If you are on a mobile device then this table is best viewed in landscape mode.)
I expected to do this exercise and find that at least a couple of arms are definitely unavailable for tonight. But in a do-or-die game, that shouldn’t be the case. I wouldn’t exactly call anyone other than Bryce Elder and maybe Pierce Johnson fresh, but everyone should be able to get in the game.
The toughest workload to withstand entering today will be Aaron Bummer. He’s pitched in each of the last two days and covered nearly 3 innings yesterday on 28 pitches. However, given San Diego’s struggles vs. LHP, I expect Bummer to be available for at least a short outing today if he’s needed in a matchup vs. a tough LHH after Lee has already been used.
If Iglesias appears today, it will be his 5th game in the last 6 days. Today would be Jiménez’s 4th game in the last 5 days. Any appearance from Lee, Hernández, and/or Luke Jackson would mark their 3rd outing in the last 4 days. And then there’s Charlie Morton, a somewhat surprising inclusion on the Wild Card roster. If he’s staying stretched out as a starter, he would likely be available to throw an inning today as part of his bullpen day. If they are committing him to the bullpen the rest of the way – and if he knows that these could be the last pitches he throws in his career – there’s no telling what he may or may not be available to do.
All in all, it’s a tired but technically available group. Adrenaline is a powerful drug, and the relief corps has stepped up all year long, so I expect them to do well if and when they are called upon. But if Max Fried decides to throw his third complete game of the season like he nearly did in his last outing, I’m sure the guys in the bullpen would be more than happy to pool some money together for a thank you gift. Word on the street is that Luke Jackson knows a thing or two about fine wines, just as an idea.
<img alt="Wild Card Series - Atlanta Braves v San Diego Padres - Game 1" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/LUyjgxhfsWe-YbZ6ngdGfXpC36s=/0x0:5826x3884/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73626913/2176014077.0.jpg">
Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
The Braves will be playing their 7th game in 6 days tonight, including their 2nd elimination game. Let’s take a look at the availability of their relief corps. It’s been some kind of week for the Atlanta Braves.
In case life has thrown you under some proverbial rock, I’ll give you a somewhat brief recap. Hurricane Helene postponed two pivotal games vs. the Mets, so instead of playing last Wednesday and Thursday, they had to play two games on Monday before flying across the full length of the United States of America to start the post season on Tuesday in San Diego. It turned out that all five of the games the Braves played in the four days preceding the beginning of the postseason were essential for the Braves to try and win, leaving the bullpen overworked and five starting pitcher options out of the picture for game one on Tuesday and three starting pitcher options unavailable for the Wild Card series entirely. Thankfully, that was the extent of what went wrong, right? RIGHT?!
Wrong. The Braves ace and likely NY Cy Young Chris Sale, who was expected to start Game 2 of Monday’s doubleheader if the Braves needed to win (which they did), has reportedly been dealing with back spasms. Not only was he unavailable on Monday, but he was left off the Wild Card roster altogether. This meant the Braves had to roll out their 7th best SP option in Game One of the playoffs after Fried, Reynaldo, Morton, Schwellenbach, and Holmes were used from Friday-Monday. Technically, it was their 8th best SP option in the organization when you remember that they lost their Opening Day starter Spencer Strider in the 2nd week of the season.
So, unsurprisingly, the Braves dropped Game One of the Wild Card Series. AJ Smith-Shawver was roughed up for 3 earned runs in 1.1 IP, and while the bullpen actually kept them in the game the rest of the way, the offense showed zero signs of life against a historically dominant Michael King.
Tonight, the Braves are sending Max Fried to the mound in a win-or-go-home game. Fried has been brilliant of late, posting a 2.39 ERA and 2.82 FIP in his past 8 starts. He’s coming off one of his best performances of the season – 8.2 shutout innings with 9 strikeouts vs. the Royals. The Braves will be looking for more of the same from both Fried, and furthermore, they will be hoping that this isn’t the last game that he pitches in a Braves uniform.
Wednesday will be game two of the playoffs for the Braves, but it will also be their 7th game in the past 6 days. The bullpen had to cover 7.2 IP yesterday after playing a doubleheader on Monday. Suffice it to say, the recent workload for the bullpen as a whole has been immense. Take a look:
(If you are on a mobile device then this table is best viewed in landscape mode.)
I expected to do this exercise and find that at least a couple of arms are definitely unavailable for tonight. But in a do-or-die game, that shouldn’t be the case. I wouldn’t exactly call anyone other than Bryce Elder and maybe Pierce Johnson fresh, but everyone should be able to get in the game.
The toughest workload to withstand entering today will be Aaron Bummer. He’s pitched in each of the last two days and covered nearly 3 innings yesterday on 28 pitches. However, given San Diego’s struggles vs. LHP, I expect Bummer to be available for at least a short outing today if he’s needed in a matchup vs. a tough LHH after Lee has already been used.
If Iglesias appears today, it will be his 5th game in the last 6 days. Today would be Jiménez’s 4th game in the last 5 days. Any appearance from Lee, Hernández, and/or Luke Jackson would mark their 3rd outing in the last 4 days. And then there’s Charlie Morton, a somewhat surprising inclusion on the Wild Card roster. If he’s staying stretched out as a starter, he would likely be available to throw an inning today as part of his bullpen day. If they are committing him to the bullpen the rest of the way – and if he knows that these could be the last pitches he throws in his career – there’s no telling what he may or may not be available to do.
All in all, it’s a tired but technically available group. Adrenaline is a powerful drug, and the relief corps has stepped up all year long, so I expect them to do well if and when they are called upon. But if Max Fried decides to throw his third complete game of the season like he nearly did in his last outing, I’m sure the guys in the bullpen would be more than happy to pool some money together for a thank you gift. Word on the street is that Luke Jackson knows a thing or two about fine wines, just as an idea.
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