Playing meaningless September games is something this franchise just isn’t used to and playing out the string of a completely lost season requires a high amount of personal pride. Because that’s pretty much all the boys are playing for the days. Pride.
So it will be interesting to see how they come out Saturday night against the Astros after getting pummeled Friday night 11-3. On the mound for Atlanta is Bryce Elder, who’s actually been a solid contributor to the rotation going on about a month now.
Over his last four starts, Elder has thrown 26 innings, given up just 4 earned runs with 21 strikeouts vs just 4 walks for a 1.37 ERA and 2.72 FIP. Only allowing 4 earned runs in his last 26 innings is notable considering he allowed 8 earned runs in 4 innings in the start before this run.
The Astros won’t make it easy of course as they’re matching with one of the best pitchers in baseball, RHP Hunter Brown. The 27-year-old has thrown 167 innings this season with a 2.25 ERA and a 3.00 FIP, striking over 10 per 9 innings pitched and averaging 97 mph on his fastball. Braves will need Elder to match Brown pitch pitch given it’s unlikely the Braves offense will have much to offer against Brown and a tough Astros bullpen.
While the outcomes don’t mean much for Atlanta, they are supremely important for Houston. Astros enter Saturday in a dead tie with Seattle at 80-68 atop the AL West and both teams hold just a 2 game lead over Texas for the third Wild Card spot. Atlanta has been relegated to playing the roll of spoiler but to even do that is going to require higher level of play than they’ve displayed lately.
