Braves set pitching plans for NL Wild Card Series against Phillies

By Mark Bowman, Braves.com

ATLANTA — The waiting is almost over for the Atlanta Braves.

After clinching the National League East with six games remaining, Atlanta spent the final week of the regular season with a different objective. Wins still mattered, but preparing the pitching staff for October mattered more.

Now the games count again.

The Braves will open a best-of-three National League Wild Card Series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday afternoon in Atlanta, with Chris Sale scheduled to start Game 1 and Tyler Mahle lined up for Game 2.

Braves manager Walt Weiss is ready for the change.

“I don’t enjoy these types of games with the Spring Training feel,” Weiss said of the final days of the regular season. “The way we’ve been running out our pitching and all of that, it’s just very different. Winning is always a priority, but it’s not the same because you’re more concerned with pitchers getting their pitch counts to where you want them.”

Atlanta used the final week to do considerably more than simply line up Sale and Mahle. The Braves experimented with an opener in front of Grant Holmes, got Robert Suarez back on a major league mound after a three-month absence and continued evaluating rookie JR Ritchie as a potential postseason starter.

Those preparations could become important quickly.

Atlanta’s rotation has been thinned by injuries to Bryce Elder, Reynaldo López and Martín Pérez, leaving the Braves with little margin for error if they advance.

Sale, however, gives Atlanta an established ace to open the postseason. His final regular-season tuneup included reaching 200 strikeouts for the ninth time in his career.

Mahle’s final start wasn’t nearly as encouraging. Cincinnati scored five earned runs against him in five innings Thursday, snapping a stretch in which he had posted a 1.28 ERA over eight starts for Atlanta.

The Braves have reason to believe the outing was an aberration. Mahle had been particularly effective against Philadelphia, allowing only one earned run over 13 innings in two September starts.

Atlanta also tried a different approach with Holmes on Friday against Miami. Instead of starting the game, Holmes entered after Ray Kerr served as an opener and worked four innings. The strategy could allow Atlanta to limit Holmes’ exposure to the top of an opposing lineup while still using him through the middle innings.

Rotation depth becomes an even greater concern if Atlanta advances to the NL Division Series.

Ritchie could be asked to start Game 1 on Saturday because Sale would not be available on regular rest until Game 2. The rookie carries a 5.73 ERA through 11 starts but showed some encouraging signs Sunday against Miami, holding the Marlins to one run and three hits through five innings before allowing three runs in the sixth.

“I’ve said it since I got drafted, I want to help bring a championship to Atlanta and that hasn’t changed at all,” Ritchie said. “I’ll be ready whenever my number is called.”

The Braves also received an important bullpen reinforcement during the final week.

Suarez returned after missing three months with right elbow discomfort and made two appearances. More importantly for Atlanta, his velocity was close to where it had been before the injury.

His four-seam fastball averaged 98.6 mph against Cincinnati on Wednesday and 97.2 mph Saturday against Miami. Before the injury, Suarez averaged 98.8 mph with the pitch while posting a 0.56 ERA in 31 appearances.

“I know the velo is there,” Suarez said.

A healthy Suarez would give Weiss another late-inning option alongside Didier Fuentes, Dylan Lee and Raisel Iglesias, potentially helping compensate for the uncertainty in the rotation.

AJ Smith-Shawver could also factor into the bullpen plans.

Smith-Shawver allowed home runs in appearances Thursday and Sunday, but his stuff remained impressive. Miami hitters swung 10 times against him Sunday and missed seven times. The home run by Griffin Conine came on a 98 mph fastball, and the Braves could use Smith-Shawver for short, high-leverage appearances rather than asking him to provide length.

“I’m excited,” Smith-Shawver said. “I’m just ready for the next opportunity. I feel like my stuff and the product that I’m putting out there is good. It’s just a pitch or two each time, and it’s just been a little frustrating.”

For most of the past week, Atlanta had the luxury of looking beyond the scoreboard and toward October.

That luxury is gone.

The Phillies arrive Tuesday for a series that could last only two or three games, and the winner moves on to the NLDS.

After a week of preparation, experimentation and waiting, the Braves are finally back to playing games where the only thing that matters is winning.

“It’ll be obviously a great atmosphere,” Braves outfielder Mike Yastrzemski said. “The crowd will be into it, and it’ll be fun.”