The last time the Braves came to town, the Phillies were a mess. The Phillies of mid-April couldn’t get out of their own way, and the Braves certainly took advantage, winning all three games by a combined score of 16-3. The Phillies did slightly better when they visited Atlanta the following week, as they were actually able to win a game, but the Braves’ 5-1 record in those two series was a big reason they were able to establish a lead in the National League East standings.
Thankfully, the Phillies
are no longer a mess. Most importantly, the starting rotation is in nowhere near the same shape as it was then. In those two series, the Braves got to face Taijuan Walker, Aaron Nola, and Andrew Painter a combined four times. Walker is gone, Painter’s turn won’t come up (although that might be to the Braves’ advantage), and Nola has been resurgent.
As it stands, four games separate the two teams in the standings, which happens to be the number of games they’ll play against each other this series. The Phillies have done well to get themselves back within striking distance, but they have to take advantage of this head-to-head matchup.
Opposition research: Chris Sale
Chris Sale is once again in contention for the National League Cy Young Award, and will have a strong case for the Hall of Fame when his career is over. But we shouldn’t let those pitching accolades make us forget that the guy is kind of nuts.
In 2016, while Sale was on the White Sox, team president Kenny Williams decided that Adam LaRoche’s 14-year-old son Drake was spending too much time in the clubhouse and put restrictions on how much time he could spend there. Adam decided he’d rather retire than deal with tose restrictions, and Sale was extremely upset about it, unloading on Williams, and hanging two LaRoche jerseys in his locker in tribute.
Later that season, the Sox were scheduled to wear special throwback uniforms, but Sale found them uncomfortable. So, as one does, he waited until the rest of the team was warming up, and he cut up the uniforms with scissors.
Then in 2018, he missed a playoff spot after going to the hospital with “abdominal distress.” He explained it was due to irritation to a belly button piercing…which wasn’t actually true. Maybe it’s me, but if my star pitcher had to miss a playoff start, I wouldn’t be all that excited about hearing him joke about it.
It’s also worth remembering that at the end of the 2024 season, he skipped his final start of the season – a must-win for the Braves – possibly because he didn’t want to cost himself the ERA title, which would have hurt his chances in the Cy Young voting.
He’ll face off against Cristopher Sanchez in the opening game of the series, and its a shame that such a good matchup will feature the Phillies’ City Connect uniforms. Perhaps they should invite Sale into their clubhouse and conveniently leave out a pair of scissors so he can do his thing?
Hating on the Braves
I’d prefer the Phillies win the National League East, because winning is almost always better than losing. But if they do fall short, there’s a chance that they could face off against the division champion Braves, and as we all know, that hasn’t gone very well for Atlanta.
I’d take more pride in the Phillies’ 3-0 playoff series record against the Braves, but the fact is, the Braves have a rather poor playoff record against just about every team. Sure, they’ll pull off a fluky World Series win every 26 years or so, but most of the time, it’s a matter of when, not if the Braves are going to fall apart.
Trivia
Last week’s answer: In the Phillies’ first ever win against the Angels, Vicente Padilla, Rheal Cormier, and Jose Mesa combined for a shutout. SLDH got two of the three first.
This week’s question: What player had the most total hits in the 2023 NLDS between the Phillies and Braves?
Yay, Trea
I’m worried that my constant negativity about Trea Turner has helped bring about his downfall. Since I’m probably going to have to endure seven more years of him on the Phillies, I’ve decided to change my mindset and become his biggest fan. I’m going to ignore how bad his body language looks at the plate and try to treat every flail at a low and outside pitch with a “You’ll get ‘em next time!” I’m going to stop panicking every time a seemingly routine ground ball is hit to shortstop.
While I may not be in attendance at any of these games, I’m going to give Turner a personal standing ovation at home every time he comes to the plate. I encourage all of you to do the same. After all, it’s not like it could make his season any worse.
Additional thought about the series
We have a very interesting foursome of pitching matchups in this series, and it’s tough to give a clear edge to either team:
Chris Sale vs. Cristopher Sanchez – As good as Sanchez has been, Sale might be the best pitcher in baseball since the All-Star break.
Martin Perez vs. Zack Wheeler – Wheeler is the better pitcher, but Perez has been better lately.
Tyler Mahle vs. Aaron Nola – Both had bad starts to their season but have been good recently.
Grant Holmes vs. Jesus Luzardo – Holmes has had a solid season, but Luzardo has been amazing since the start of May.
With not much separation there, it seems likely that these games will come down to which bullpen performs better. Obviously, the Phillies are confident in Jhoan Duran for the ninth, but getting to him hasn’t always been easy. It looks like Don Mattingly is going to keep putting Jose Alvarado and Orion Kerkering out there in the late innings no matter how many times they fail.
It would be great if both Jonathan Bowlan and Alex McFarlane can show that they’re ready for those high leverage innings. My heart can only take so much of seeing Alvarado and Kerkering trying to record key outs with runners on base.
Or the Phillies’ hitters could just go off on the Braves’ starters and not even have to worry about high leverage relief innings. That would be swell too.
