The Atlanta Braves ended the speculation about who would be the starter for Game 3 of the National League Division Series with a tweet on Friday morning. The Braves announced that rookie Spencer Strider would get the ball in Philadelphia, followed by Charlie Morton in Game 4.
Strider (11-5, 2.67 ERA) has been phenomenal during his rookie season and seems to be one of two potential NL Rookie of the Year options in Atlanta alongside Michael Harris II. Strider struck out 202 batters in 131 2/3 innings this season, good for sixth in the National League and 11th in the majors.
As if his overall numbers weren’t enough, Strider was particularly effective against the Phillies this season. He carded his highest inning total against Philadelphia at 21 1/3 over four appearances, all of which were wins for the flamethrowing righty. He posted a 1.27 ERA in those appearances, striking out 34 batters while allowing just 14 baserunners for a 0.656 WHIP.
In his lone road start in Philadelphia, Strider pitched six innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts, three hits and one walk. The lone run for the Phillies came on a solo home run by Kyle Schwarber in the sixth inning.
Game 3 is set to begin at 4:37 p.m. on FS1, with Aaron Nola (11-13, 3.25) getting the ball for the Phillies.
LINEUP
Just before 1 p.m. on Friday, the Braves announced their lineup for Game 3 of the NLDS.
Marcell Ozuna remained in the lineup as designated hitter, with Vaughn Grissom getting the start at second base. Travis d’Arnaud is behind the plate again after going 3-for-8 in the first two games with four RBIs, a double and a home run.
The right move to start Strider today. If he’s on his game, I am fully expecting him to go deeper than 50 pitches. Go Braves!
Released two days before Spencer Strider was born:
NINE INNINGS!
I am reaching dangerous levels of YES YES Y’ALL
Not sure what the Ozuna fascination is, but I’m very happy that he’s starting Strider and swapping Arcia for Grissom.
Argghhh I don’t have FS1. I’m back on Gameday audio!
I love the patience Matt Olson has displayed this series. That’s his fourth walk in ten plate appearances in the series.
Riley has seemed really average over the last couple months.
Yeah we need to get something out Riley this weekend. Nice work by Strider. One inning down, eight to go.
For those just listening, Strider had tip-top command of the fastball in that inning, threw over a hundred a couple times. Wasted a couple of sliders, but they had great movement.
Not a strike
Love the fact that Snit keeps playing Ozuna. Dude hasn’t hit all season so play him in back to back games…quite an astute move with Contreras on the bench.
Ozuna de los Bravos yall.
He’s a lot of things, but inconsistent ain’t one of ’em.
Grissom didn’t play at all for a month. Putting him in here is quite unfair. I want to see him play too because he’s better than Arcia in my opinion, but you have to give him some regular ABs first.
Contreras or Grossman has to be in there besides Ozuna .. he has no clue
Been a while since anyone has been nominated for being fired into the sun…
That was such an ugly ar bat. I know Nola struck out the side. But Ozuna’s AB still stood out
Ozuna’s AB was one of the worst non-pitcher ABs I’ve ever seen. Yikes. Pretty frustrating to see him play amazing in 2020, get a big (for him) contract and then proceed to be a terrible human and baseball player 2021-onward.
Strider’s fastball is as sharp as I’ve ever seen it, and it is certainly one of the two best fastballs owned by a starter I’ve seen in the game today.
@16 and yet we keep penciling him into the lineup
Sure wish Ozzie hadn’t broken his finger. The debate between Grissom and Arcia would be moot. ( they said on tv that Arcia was like 0-13 against Nola or something like that).
Why on earth? Come on Strider. Pinch the next two out and it’s no issue
Why on earth? Come on Strider. Punch the next two out and it’s no issue by
Well crap freaking crap.
Oh no.
Wow- mental breakdown on Strider there
Well, that sucked…
Gotta make Nola work, scratch out what we can & get after their bullpen.
Welp.
Slider to Stott was one of the worst pitch calls ever.
Well, let’s go Morton.
Goodnight, Braves.
Hopefully Charlie comes up big tomorrow
Crap. Someone must have counted our vote wrong. We all voted that the Braves score ten runs and the Phillies get shut out. At this rate it looks like we’ll need 10 runs.
The 4 pitch walk to their 8-hole hitter and the throwing error on the pickoff were pretty bad, but why in the world did we intentionally walk Schwarber, who is hitless so far in the playoffs? Just handed them a run for free.
Now we have to get off the mat big-time against Aaron Nola, or pin our playoff hopes on a Charlie Morton start in Philadelphia. :/
Edit – WTF? I turned the game off for a minute bc I can’t stand hearing opposing fans cheer loudly, and now it’s 6-0? Guess I get to put together the overpriced kids bed frame my wife came home with today. Go Braves…
And Hoskins was 1 for 18 coming into this game.
Better 6-0 after 3 than 6-0 after 8…
Bruce Sutter has died.
Ozuna continuing to pay dividends
Odorizzi… looks like we’re gonna save the bullpen for tomorrow.
The game isn’t over — we scored six runs after going down a crooked number in the first game. But the team is not playing loose, and the offense is not firing on all cylinders. I think Harris is pressing, and I’m sure Grissom is too.
Snitker’s superpower is helping the guys stay loose. Time for these guys to remember who they are.
Did Odorizzi drink a bottle of cough syrup or something? He’s all over the place.
Alright, guys… a chance to make this interesting…
Jeez, Hoskins’ glove must be made of cement… he looks like a Little Leaguer at 1B
Hey, a gift run… danke
That’s not an error on Hoskins, right? How could it be?
Money money money Mike rockin’ everywhere!
#40
Can’t assume the DP… but, c’mon…
I agree, but that’s why I think the “you can’t assume the DP” rule makes no sense.
It is an error. It’s the only time you can assume the double play – when it’s completed but for a dropped throw on the back end.
That was Exhibit A.
#39
Manos de piedra.
There was a play in one of our early-season games where Olson deserved an error for muffing a similar throw and they didn’t give it to him, and everyone parroted the “can’t assume a double play” line, but the ruling was incorrect and everybody who explained why it wasn’t an error was incorrect. It drove me a bit nuts for like three days…ha!
Odorizzi did a much better job than I expected. Props to him.
I wonder if we’d have any consideration of bringing Fried back on three days’ rest (assuming we lose this game).
I can’t imagine it won’t be Morton. It’s not like we’ll be facing Steve Carlton tomorrow.
If it goes 5 games, I wonder if they’d pitch Wheeler on 3-days’ rest. I would.
Maybe, but Suarez gives us problems too.
Jesse Chávez has been trash for his last three appearances dating back to the regular season. He’s lost his magic. Good thing it didn’t mean anything today.
Quite worried, but more embarrassed for possibly losing to these clowns who wouldn’t have made the playoffs if they hadn’t been expanded this year.
I still like our chances IF Morton can avoid the long ball. The back end of our bullpen is rested for the next 2 games, and I think we’ll score against whoever pitches tomorrow. And I don’t think Fried will have 2 bad games in the same series.
Snit made all the moves I wanted and it resulted in a shit tsunami. What can you say? Let’s go Charlie.
Ozuna better be sitting tomorrow.
Also, will someone wash Brandon Marsh’s hair. It’s driving me nuts;)
Sucks how you can be excited for a game all day and 30 minutes after it starts, it’s a complete afterthought.
Guess we really did need 10 runs today…
Nonetheless, call me optimistic that we’ll kick their ass tomorrow & take it back home.
@ 56
Today’s game reminded me of that division series game against the Cards a few years ago, in which the Braves were down 10-0 by the time they had their first at-bat. Do I remember that correctly?
I like our chances tomorrow too. Sucks when you are confident you have the better team by far, but the result aren’t showing it.
We’re overdue for a fuck you we just went yard 5 times type of game. If not I still enjoyed the season. Thank y’all for entertaining me. Maybe I should go back to trolling, that might be the sweet spot.
Things that happen to be more fun than today’s game:
1 – passing a kidney stone
2 – getting a couple of cavities filled by a lousy dentist that doesn’t believe in laughing gas
3 – IRS audits are always a blast
4 – Watching and waiting for B.J. Upton in 2013 to at least hit above .200
Let’s score 10 tomorrow – – and at least bring it back to ATL.
As Skip Caray would often say during the dark times, “That game was about as much fun as writing an alimony check.”
Just need 2 in a row… it’s been done many times before.
@62 – That’s a good one! Skip would’ve also declared “cocktail hour” EARLY in this contest. Let’s go get’em tomorrow.
Will tomorrow be Dansby’s Swansong?
Ok with not repeating. Not ok with this.
Saw a tweet that said Phillies are starting Syndergaard tomorrow
Battle Attle
Those intradivision matchups are tough: #Braves #Dodgers
@66 if it’s Morton v Syndergaard I like our chances pretty well, even with reduced Morton. Syndergaard is far reduced from his peak as well, and he has not looked great recently.
I don’t know exactly when the adrenaline wore off of Strider, but that third was bad from the start. Four-pitch walk to Brandon Marsh? I could understand handling Bryce or JT with kid gloves (which he didn’t!), but no reason not to go after Marsh. And he suddenly couldn’t hit his spots. I think that was the moment when the rook thought “uh oh”. Because his velo was sporadic from then on. Then the 9-pitch AB with Stott was frustrating I’m sure, because the FB suddenly wasn’t unhittable. So he goes away from FB and Stott gets him. And in that atmosphere – the 23yo’s first exposure to such – he couldn’t recover it.
LEARNING EXPERIENCE. I believe one day we’ll all look back and remember this moment for Strider. Sucks now, but he will be better for it in many future high leverage and playoff starts.
Now then. We can beat Syndergaard.. Better get the bats going. I want an early run or two. Let Charlie settle in. He can’t hang any curveballs though.
We need the offense to click. Nice to see RAJ coming around yesterday. I think TDA is underrated. Experience helps so much in games like these! That’s why I was happy to see Arcia subbed in. Nice to get Grissom some experience in this atmosphere. But in a do-or-die game today, give me Arcia. Ozuna is trash at the moment, so I prefer Contreras (going against my experience line a little there I know). Olson and Dansby have had moments. WE NEED AUSTIN RILEY TO STEP UP! We have to play Money Mike, but I’m happy with any offense I get from him as icing on top. His mark will be made in the field.
Up here in Philly, this city was in an absolute frenzy yesterday. I think some – some! – of that edge will be off today. And we ain’t facing Wheeler or Nola. (But they ain’t facing Max or Kyle.)
LETS GOOOOO!
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/34798184/lack-ly-hitting-dodgers-facing-early-playoff-exit-vs-padres
Nice to know we aren’t alone.
“ An 0-for-8 showing with runners in scoring position in Wednesday’s Game 2 of the National League Division Series was followed by an 0-for-9 showing in Friday’s Game 3. Their hitless streak in those situations has extended to 19 at-bats, tied for their longest rut of the season and marking their longest in a single playoff since 1981. Now their dominant season — of 111 wins and a plus-334 run-differential, tied for the fourth-largest in history — is on the verge of ending at the hands of the same San Diego Padres team they steamrolled over the previous six months. The postseason can often feel this sudden.”
Does anyone have any idea what happened with Morton during his warm-up tosses?
Ugh. Acuna needed to be backing up Harris there.
C’mon, guys, let’s make this into a shootout and bullpen duel.
Looks like Snitker trusts Kyle Wright on no days’ rest more than he does Chavez and Odorizzi, and I am here for it.
Uh, I was confused, obviously, Kyle has a couple days’ rest.
ooof, on Morton:
https://www.mlb.com/news/charlie-morton-exits-nlds-game-4-start-after-2-innings
In short, he had a velocity drop of an mph or two after the comebacker, which is not promising.