The Atlanta Braves have advanced in a playoff series for the first time in 19 years, but with the expanded postseason, the task now centers around making their first NLCS since that 2001 season.
The Braves see a familiar foe in the Miami Marlins, a team they defeated six times in ten tries, with seven of those games coming in the last month of the season (4-3 record).
Usually the familiarity between the two sides breeds contempt, but main Marlins antagonist Jose Urena will not participate in the series after fracturing his arm in the final series of the regular season. Urena has had his tussles with the Braves’ Ronald Acuña, Jr., as the Miami hurler has hit Atlanta’s star with multiple pitches in his career, drawing ire from the outfielder and his fan base.
This series will test the depth of the Braves’ starting rotation, especially if the series gets past the first three games. Atlanta does not have a certain fourth starter, and a decisive fifth game would put the Braves’ best starter, Max Fried, in uncomfortable waters starting on three days rest.
Caleb Johnson of the Batter Up! Podcast believes the advantage lies with the Braves, especially given some of the high run totals they’ve put up on the Marlins this season. “The Braves have put gigantic scores multiple times on these Marlins teams,” Johnson says. “The one thing that is certain amongst all the uncertainties in this postseason is that you’ve beaten the team you’re facing more than they’ve beaten you this season.”
Joe Patrick believes both teams mirror each other, saying, “It works both ways, I think it’s going to be a hard-fought series and the series will be representative of two teams that know each other very well. The Marlins remind me of a miniature version of the Braves, they’re dynamic in a way that the Braves are. For that reason I believe it’s a very interesting matchup.
Will Palaszczuk was one of the few who wanted to see the Cubs instead of the Marlins, but has more confidence in this matchup than the Braves’ Wild Card opponent, the Reds. “The thing that worries me, and worries a lot of Braves fans is that they don’t want to see the offense devolve into the malaise it did against the Cardinals a year ago,” Palaszczuk said.
For the second straight series, the Batter Up! Podcast will provide live postgame reaction on the 92.9 The Game Facebook Page after the game’s final out. You can download the Batter Up! Podcast here, and listen to the latest full episode below: