The Braves are going back to the bullpen route for Game 2 of the NL Division Series, and this time it’s Ray Kerr getting the ball instead of Chris Sale.
Atlanta will hand the left-hander the start Sunday night in Los Angeles, with first pitch set for 8 p.m. on FS1. Kerr is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in the postseason after opening Thursday’s winner-take-all wild-card game against the Phillies, when he gave the Braves exactly what they needed: 3 1/3 scoreless innings, one hit allowed and one walk.
That outing came on two days’ rest after Kerr threw 47 pitches, so how long he can carry this one is still a question. But the Braves do have something going for them on the pitching side: most of their top bullpen arms should be available after Didier Fuentes, Dylan Lee and Raisel Iglesias were used heavily in the wild-card round.
Sale, meanwhile, is being held back after throwing 21 pitches to record the final four outs Thursday. He would have been in line to start Game 2 on normal rest, but Atlanta appears to be saving him for Game 3 back home on Tuesday, hoping to avoid falling into a 2-0 series hole.
That puts Kerr in a difficult spot against a Dodgers lineup that is a much tougher assignment than the Phillies’ order. Los Angeles can stack left-handed threats like Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman near the top, and the rest of the group is deeper and more dangerous overall.
On the other side, the Dodgers are set up exactly the way the Braves are not. They had their pitching plan mapped out before the series even began, and Game 2 belongs to Blake Snell.
Snell is 4-1 with a 1.90 ERA and has looked sharp since getting healthy in August. After missing time because of left shoulder fatigue and then loose bodies in his throwing elbow, he has settled in over the last two months, going at least five innings in six of his eight starts and allowing no more than one run in any of them.
In August, he posted a 1.17 ERA in four starts. In September, it was 1.08.
Over that stretch, he struck out 50 and walked 14 in 39 2/3 innings.
The numbers underneath the surface back it up too, with Snell’s xERA at 2.17. And he’s been here before.
Across four postseasons with the Rays, Padres and Dodgers, he owns a 7-5 record and 3.27 ERA in 18 games, 15 of them starts. Last October for Los Angeles, he went 3-2 with a 3.18 ERA in six postseason appearances, including a loss in Game 5 of the World Series and then 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief on two days’ rest in Game 7.
There is at least one familiar note for Atlanta. Snell’s only start against the Braves this season came May 9 in Los Angeles, and the Braves hit him hard: five runs, four earned, six hits and three innings.
It was his only regular-season loss. In six career appearances against Atlanta, he is 0-3 with a 3.49 ERA, though he has never faced the Braves in the postseason.
For Atlanta, the path is plain enough. Sunday night will demand another strong bullpen effort and a lot of things going right. Otherwise, the series could be slipping away fast.
In Other News...
Braves Face A Massive Game 2 Decision After NLDS Opener
The Braves opened their NLDS against the Dodgers with a 5-3 loss, and the postgame discussion quickly turned from the scoreboard to how Atlanta manages what comes next. Walt Weiss spent much of his time talking through bullpen usage and the way the game unfolded, while also noting how difficult Los Angeles made things on offense with Tarik Skubal on the mound.
Now the attention shifts to Game 2, where Atlanta is staring at a significant pitching question with Chris Sales availability still unsettled. The Braves will need a sharper offensive night after struggling in the opener, but the bigger issue may be how Weiss pieces together the pitching plan if Sale is not available. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Fans Have Every Right To Question This October Pitching Call
Atlantas postseason pitching choices are under the microscope after Brian Snitker said the bullpen had been emptied in the previous game and that some arms were unavailable because of injury. The manager pointed to the idea of getting the relief group rested for the next night, which helps explain the roster management behind the move, but it does not make the decision feel any less consequential in the middle of October.
Chris Sale being available only sharpens the debate, because this was the kind of game where the Braves had every reason to lean on their best options rather than sort through lower-tier arms. Instead, they went in a direction that left plenty of room for second-guessing, and for a fan base used to thinking big in the postseason, that is exactly the kind of call that sticks. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Already Face A Bigger NLDS Problem Than The Game 1 Loss
The Braves left Dodger Stadium with a Game 1 loss, but the score may not have been the most concerning part of the night. Los Angeles got six innings of one-run ball from Tarik Skubal and three home runs from Teoscar Hernndez, Kyle Tucker and Max Muncy in a 5-3 win, all of it unfolding in near-record heat that made for a grinding October opener.
Sunday evening brings Game 2, and Atlanta now has to answer more than just the immediate damage on the scoreboard. The bigger concern is whether the Braves can settle in quickly enough against a Dodgers team that already looked comfortable, while also coping with conditions that made every inning feel heavier than usual. [Read more 🡒]