NLDS preview: 25 things to know about the Braves going into their matchup vs. the Phillies

One piece of advice for Phillies starting pitchers: Watch out for quick starts.

The Braves’ offense put up staggering numbers this season, especially in the first inning. Getting through that frame unscathed is critical.

But the Braves have been big winners before and it’s gotten them nowhere. So that part of history is on the Phillies’ side. Also, Bryce Harper owns their closer.

Here are 25 Braves stats, facts, and even trivia to chew on ahead of Saturday night’s series opener.

1. Marcell Ozuna, who had been arrested for domestic violence in 2021 and a DUI in 2022, was nearly designated for assignment following a slow start to this season that was even worse than Trea Turner’s. He’s turned it around at the plate and had a career year with 40 homers.

2. Ozuna, coming off two subpar seasons, began the year 4-for-55 (.073) and was booed heartily by Braves fans. But Atlanta, which owed Ozuna $36 million, hung in there. Ozuna was 0-for-8 against the Phillies in last year’s NLDS. This season, Ozuna hit .429 against the Phillies in Atlanta (12-for-28), but just .238 at Citizens Bank Park (5-for-21).

3. If Turner is the most significant addition for the Phillies from last year, catcher Sean Murphy has to be that guy for Atlanta. His 21 home runs are a career high, though good for just sixth-most in the Braves’ potent lineup. He threw out 21.6% of base stealers. Backup Travis d’Arnaud threw out 12.7%.

» READ MORE: NL Division Series storylines: Can the powerhouse Braves beat the Phillies’ vibe this time?

4. The Braves were successful on eight stolen base tries in 10 attempts against Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto, who had a career-low 22.1% caught-stealing rate on the season. Ronald Acuña Jr. was 5-for-6 with Realmuto behind the plate. More on Acuña below.

5. The Braves will be without 39-year-old starter Charlie Morton (12-10, 30 starts) for this series because of a sprained finger. Morton (three runs in two innings) was the losing pitcher in last year’s NLDS finale when the Phillies finished off the Braves.

6. Trivia: Who was the Phillies’ starting pitcher for Game 4 when they clinched last year’s NLDS?

7. Atlanta tied the 2019 Twins’ record with 307 home runs. Their 47 homers in the first inning broke the record held by the 2019 Reds. The Twins lost in the ALDS that year. The Reds finished 16 games out in the NL Central.

8. Atlanta’s 146 runs, 217 hits, and 47 dingers in the first are the most by any team in any inning this year. They hit a remarkable .322 in the inning. By comparison, the Phillies scored 94 runs, had 155 hits, 32 homers, and hit .253 in their first at-bats, and their pitchers gave up 26 first-inning homers.

9. In 13 first innings against the Phillies, the Braves scored 14 runs and hit seven homers. Seven of those runs, however, came in one game off Dylan Covey on May 28. Covey, Cristopher Sánchez, and Aaron Nola (to Austin Riley and Ozuna) each gave up two homers to the Braves in the first. Zack Wheeler gave up one (to Ozzie Albies).

10. Matt Olson set the club record with 54 bombs. He hit six homers in 13 games this year against the Phillies, including four in six games at CBP. Olson was acquired by Atlanta in a 2022 deal with Oakland that included Cristian Pache. A year later, the Phillies plucked Pache off the A’s for minor league pitcher Billy Sullivan.

» READ MORE: Murphy: The Phillies’ first goal is to beat the Braves. Their second goal is to become them.

11. Olson is Atlanta’s Roberto Clemente Award nominee for his work with autism awareness. Olson has been a friend of Reece Blankenship, who is autistic and nonverbal, since high school, and his support of Blankenship’s ReClif program is changing lives for those on the spectrum.

12. Late last season, when Olson was mired in a slump, Blankenship used a letter board to send the following message to his friend, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

“Not many endure the scrutiny of their jobs like pro athletes face. I realize that for even someone as mildly tempered as yourself, that is a tremendous weight to shoulder. It is ridiculous for me to point out that everyone goes through highs and lows, and you are not an exception to that rule. You are, however, exceptional in other regards, specifically your strength of character and commitment to those you care about,” Blankenship wrote.

“Realistically, your batting average will have its fluctuations, but it will have an uptick soon. While baseball is a game, it is still your occupation and there is true significance in maintaining your stats in order to accomplish your job.

“Go get ‘em and have a blast, my friend. Comrades always, Reece.”

The AJC pointed out that Olson homered in five of the next six games. And, of course, he had a career season.

13. As great as Olson has been this year, Acuña is the team’s MVP. Probably the NL’s MVP, too. Acuña and Spencer Strider could become the first set of teammates to win both major awards since Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander in 2013. (The Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw won both awards in 2014.)

14. Acuña hit .337 with 41 homers and 73 steals. He’s not only the first player with 40-70, but no one has even had a 30-60 season. Previously, the most stolen bases by a player with at least 40 home runs was Alex Rodriguez’s 46 steals in 1998. Conversely, the most home runs by a player with 70 stolen bases had been Rickey Henderson, who hit 28 homers in 1986.

15. Atlanta was 6-5 against the Phillies this year, including 5-1 at Citizens Bank Park.

16. Strider, 24, went 20-5 with 3.86 ERA and 281 strikeouts. He’s the youngest pitcher in Braves history to win 20 and the strikeouts are a modern franchise record. My man Charlie Buffinton had 417 strikeouts in 1884. Ol’ Chuck won 48 games that year and pitched 63 complete games. Wonder what his pitch count was.

» READ MORE: Hayes: Those famous standing ovations for Trea Turner energized him — and fired up the Phillies as well

17. Strider went 4-0 against the Phillies this season with a 2.42 ERA and an impressive WHIP of 0.81. Strider’s only postseason start came in last year’s NLDS when, pitching for the first time in nearly a month because of an arm injury, he got roughed up early by the Phillies. The outing, 2⅓ innings, remains the shortest start of his young career.

18. Harper is 7-for-10 with four home runs in his career off Braves right-handed closer Raisel Iglesias. Harper was 2-for-3 with a homer this season, and had an RBI single in his only at-bat against him in last year’s NLDS.

19. Answer to No. 6: Noah Syndergaard started Game 4 of last year’s NLDS for the Phillies. He gave up only one run, but because he pitched just three innings, he was not eligible for the win. Reliever Brad Hand, now in the Braves’ bullpen, got the victory. Syndergaard was released by Cleveland in August.

20. Braves third baseman Austin Riley was all-state as a punter at DeSoto High in Southaven, Miss. He had an offer from Mississippi State, where his father Mike was an all-SEC punter in 1989 and 1990. Alas, he (ahem) punted to focus on baseball. Last year, the Braves signed Riley to a 10-year, $212 million deal.

21. The Seattle Seahawks’ Michael Dickson is the NFL’s highest-paid punter at $3.675 million per year.

22. The Braves had the eighth-highest payroll in baseball ($203 million) when the season started. The Phillies ($243 million) were fourth. The top three (Mets, $353 million; Yankees, $277 million; and Padres, $249 million) failed to make the playoffs.

» READ MORE: Bryce Harper asked José Alvarado to make him a necklace. Now all the Phillies have them.

23. Reliever Kirby Yates is one of the few Braves who has never appeared in the postseason. The 36-year-old Yates has had Tommy John surgery twice and was the pitcher who struck out Brandon Marsh on Sept. 13 to give Atlanta its sixth consecutive division title.

24. Yates, who is from the Hawaiian island Kauai, sent a poignant message (and a donation) to those affected by the Maui wildfires in August.

25. Atlanta, which led the majors with 104 wins, has never won a World Series in the modern era when they’ve won 100 games in a season. They didn’t even reach the Series in six of the previous seven times they’ve gotten to 100. The exception was their 1999 club (103 wins), which was swept by the Yankees in that year’s championship.

Source: Inquirer research, Baseball-Reference.com