Atlanta Braves manager Walt Weiss has maintained all season that his ballclub is at its best whenever their backs are against the wall. They will well and truly be up against it tonight (and again on Friday if they win Game 4) as the specter of elimination looms with the next Braves loss.
Atlanta’s going to have yet another tough task with Tyler Glasnow getting the ball as the Dodgers continue to send out what feels like a never-ending parade of imposing starting pitchers. With that being said, the Braves
are here for a reason and they have no choice but to step up and continue to find ways to meet the moment in order to keep their season going.
The pressure’s definitely going to be on Tyler Mahle to continue delivering strong production on the mound. He’s done it before as he did pitch seven shutout innings against the Dodgers back in April when he was playing with the Giants but the Postseason is a different animal. With that being said, Weiss appears confident that his Game 4 starter can hold LA at bay during this critical contest.
“I think [Mahle]’s just a good pitcher. Slow heartbeat. That’s what I’ve seen since he’s been with us,” said Weiss when he was asked during the pregame press conference about what makes Mahle made for these moments. “He’s got a really good split finger and commands the ball. He can execute pitches. And that’s what he’s done with us. He’s been really, really good for us. His fastball goes typically north and south, and the split works off of that. He’s got a good cutter that I think is very complementary to the other pitches. Occasional slider. And he commands the ball. He executes pitches.”
On top of simply executing and delivering in the moment, the mentality of the ballclub is also important. One of the other things that Weiss has maintained with his team all season is that the best type of clubhouse is one that’s loose and focused. Wild Card Series hero Austin Riley echoed those sentiments when I asked him about the importance of maintaining that type of mentality going into such a crucial portion of the Postseason.
“For sure, I think you’ve got to stay that way,” responded Riley. “No matter the situation, you’ve got to stay loose, you’ve got to stay focused, you’ve got to trust your plan and trust your work that you’ve put in in the cage and through the whole season, and really just, like I said, trust on that.”
“If you put pressure on yourself in big moments and try to do too much, I think that’s when things spiral. We’ve got to stay loose and this team’s good when our backs are against the wall. I really like tonight and trust that we’ll get the job done.”
Tonight could be the first in a fantastic Postseason chapter for the Atlanta Braves against a club that is aiming to become one of baseball’s great dynasties or it could be the end of the line as far as 2026 goes. Either way, the Braves appear to stay committed to what brought them to the dance so far in the Postseason.
The stars need to shine, the pitching staff needs to come up huge and everybody needs to play the role that was set for them. It’s time to see another example of this team being at they’re best when they’re cornered.
