The Braves are headed into Tuesday afternoon’s Wild Card Series with no interest in making a big deal out of the clock.
Atlanta opens the postseason after missing it in 2025 because of an injury-riddled season, and this year’s group got back in by doing two things: clinching a playoff berth and winning the NL East for the first time since 2023. That division title came Sunday in a 4-2 win over the Houston Astros, when the Braves secured their seventh NL East championship in nine years and celebrated with hugs, championship hats, T-shirts and a team photo. Mike Yastrzemski’s three-run homer in a four-run sixth inning put Atlanta in front, and Dylan Dodd finished it off by striking out the side in the ninth.
Now comes the part they probably would have preferred to avoid: the early slot. If the Phillies win, they’ll play Wild Card Series in Atlanta during earliest slot - 2 p.m. - on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, according to The Athletic’s Matt Gelb.
For Braves manager Walt Weiss, though, the start time isn’t a talking point.
“It doesn't matter. I don't care.
I mean, who we play, when we play, it doesn't matter. It's gonna be tough in a postseason game.
Winning games in the postseason is tough. It doesn't matter who you're playing.
But we'll be ready,” Weiss told the media.
That’s been the tone around Atlanta in Weiss’ first season: direct, forceful, and focused on the task instead of the noise around it. The Braves have played with more fire and emotion, and they’ve backed it up with the kind of edge that gets a team through a long season.
Weiss is clearly fired up for the matchup with a division rival, and Atlanta’s manager isn’t worried about whether his club is asked to show up at noon or night. In his view, the Braves will be ready whenever the moment comes.
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