NL Division Series: Everything you need to know about the Braves
Atlanta won the season series against the Phillies and played nearly .700 baseball since June as it captured another National League East crown.
This will be the second time the Phillies face the Braves in the postseason, and just like 1993, they are definitely the underdogs.
The Braves won 11 of 19 games against the Phillies this year and played nearly .700 baseball since June as they hunted down another National League East crown. The Phillies, meanwhile, staggered down the stretch, didn’t get into the playoffs until game No. 160, and had to grind out two wins in St. Louis while the Braves rested.
With that, here are some other things to think about ahead of Tuesday’s opening game of the National League Division Series:
1. Atlanta was not swept in a series all year, the first time any team has managed that for a full season since the Braves themselves 18 years ago. (Fun fact: the 111-win Dodgers were swept twice; once by the 100-loss Pirates.)
2. The Braves were a lackluster 23-27 and 10½ games back in the NL East on the morning of June 1. They closed 78-34 (.696) and won the division over the Mets on a tiebreaker. Atlanta was 9-6 against the Phils after June 1.
3. The turnaround largely coincided with center fielder Michael Harris being called up from triple A to replace Travis Demeritte, who was in a 1-for-34 slump at the time. Harris is probably going to be the NL rookie of the year while Demeritte was designated for assignment in August.
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4. As Braves beat writer Mark Bowman put it, Harris’ arrival “transitioned the Braves’ outfield from liability to strength … and pitchers felt more comfortable every time a ball left the infield.”
5. One final development was moving rookie Spencer Strider and his snazzy mustache from the bullpen to the rotation on May 30. He went 10-4 with a 2.77 ERA in the role and set the Braves record with 16 strikeouts against Colorado on Sept. 1. Strider hasn’t pitched since Sept. 18 because of a strained oblique muscle in his side.
6. This will be the second postseason meeting between the two clubs. When the Phillies surprised the Braves to win the 1993 NLCS, their odds were +$180, meaning bookies had to pay $180 for every $100 wagered on the Phils. This year, that number is a little lower as DraftKings on Sunday had the Phillies at +150.
7. Atlanta was 11-8 against the Phillies this year. The Braves’ 6-3 mark in Atlanta includes a three-game sweep there in September. The Phillies played them even (5-5) at Citizens Bank Park.
8. Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson is engaged to U.S. women’s soccer forward Mallory Pugh. He’s had a career year and is a free agent this offseason. He’ll turn 29 in February and can expect a significant bump in his $10 million salary.
9. Swanson hit a full-season personal best .277 this year, and was 26-for-78 (.333) against the Phillies overall and 16-for-36 (.444) against the Phils in Atlanta.
10. Braves closer Kenley Jansen led the National League with 41 saves, but his seven blown saves were tied for the highest total in the league. This is his first season in Atlanta after 12 years with the Dodgers. Jansen’s 19 career postseason saves are a distant second to Mariano Rivera’s 42.
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11. Jansen is tied with former Phillie Ryan Madson for second all-time with 57 playoff appearances. Only Rivera (96) has more.
12. Phillies reliever David Robertson has appeared in seven divisional series (six with the Yankees, one last season with Tampa Bay) and given up one run in 17 appearances for a 0.47 ERA.
13. According to data compiled by UmpScorecards.com, Game 1 home plate umpire David Rackley had a 94.79% accuracy rate on balls and strikes during the season, which was seventh-best leaguewide and the best mark among the five who could be behind the plate for this series.
14. Nic Lentz (94.49%, ranked 20th) will have Game 2, followed by crew chief Bill Miller (93.54%, 56th) for Game 3. If necessary, Stu Scheurwater (93.46%, 62nd) will have Game 4 followed by Chad Fairchild (94.31%, 23rd) in the series finale. If an average game has 150 balls-and-strikes calls, the difference between Rackley’s seventh-best mark and Scheurwater’s 62nd is about two missed pitches.
15. Elton John, who gave the world “Philadelphia Freedom,” has a house in Atlanta and is a huge Braves fan dating back to the Bobby Cox era. That kinda hits a sour note.
16. The Braves allowed first baseman and franchise cornerstone Freddie Freeman to sign with the Dodgers as a free agent after winning last year’s World Series. They brought in Matt Olson from Oakland, and though he had a mediocre season (34 homers, 170 strikeouts), he’s five years younger than Freeman and was the NL’s final player of the week after homering in four straight games from Sept. 28-Oct. 2.
17. Olson and Swanson were the only major leaguers to play 162 games this season. Rhys Hoskins was the Phillies’ leader at 156, one ahead of Kyle Schwarber.
18. Freeman’s gone, but the Braves do have right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. for this year’s postseason run. Acuna ripped up his knee at midseason last year. His power numbers were down in 2022 (just 15 homers, career-low .413 slugging), but his 29 stolen bases were the second-highest total of his career. He was 1-for-1 on steal attempts against the Phillies this season.
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19. Kyle Wright, 27, had never pitched in more than eight games in a season before this year. He went 21-5 with 3.19 ERA to become the seventh Braves pitcher to win 20 in a season since the team moved to Atlanta in 1966. Phil Niekro, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Denny Neagle, and Russ Ortiz were the others. Ortiz, in 2003, was the last. The Phillies have had three pitchers win 20 since 1966: Chris Short, Steve Carlton, and Roy Halladay.
20. This will be the fourth time the Phillies are playing the defending champions in the following postseason. They were swept in 1950 by the Yankees and in 1976 by the Reds, and had their hearts broken by the Blue Jays in 1993. But bet against this club at your own risk.
The pick: Karma and grit are nice, but deeper starting pitching is nicer. Braves in 5.