In honor of tonight’s game and in memoriam for the 2026 Red Sox season:
Game Thread
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In honor of tonight’s game and in memoriam for the 2026 Red Sox season:
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
From Scott Windon Luton:
A little ol Carnac
Answer: Dom Smith hitting in the DH slot in a “win or go home” playoff game.
Question: How do you know the Braves didn’t do what needed to be done at the trading deadline?
maybe Dom goes and hits a homer…i’ll gladly wear egg on my face for a few days
You (Scott) mean the same trading deadline when AA got Tyler Mahle for Anthony Molina?
Murphy, in addition to being perfect on ABS challenges and doing a good job running the bases yesterday, seemed pretty locked in at the plate — he was 2-4 with a double and a walk, and all but one of his PAs were competitive. Absolutely ridiculous that he’s not starting. He should be behind the plate with Drake at DH.
What’s the plan for Kerr? Ideally he gets through the 1st unscathed. And then…bring in Holmes in the 2nd? Let Kerr go 1 time through the order, depending on how he’s doing?
Edit to respond to Stephen – completely agree. And I don’t even like Murphy.
Murph had a really good game yesterday, and I’m worried that starting Smith has the feel of the same kind of too-clever-by-half overfocus on matchups that led Weiss to bring Lee in to face Schwarber and Harper. However, I’m pretty positive that we’ll see Murphy enter the game. I’d be shocked if Smith gets more than two or three plate appearances.
No one could accuse Weiss this year of undermanaging, and, with the exception of yesterday (“and how was the rest of the play, Mrs. Lincoln”) it has worked out. I’m sticking with Walt, with the fan’s prerogative to change my mind.
For both of you who wanted to see the other side of my Rico Carty jersey:
I’ve got a shirt dilemma. I fully realize that what I wear is highly unlikely to influence the outcome. But it’s best not to take any chances. I wore a Braves polo shirt for the first time on Tuesday and they won. So I wore it yesterday–but it let me down. Can’t trust it tonight. If you’re wearing Carty, I guess I’ll go back to my favorite Aaron jersey.
I have a Pascal’s Wager reaction to superstition. It’s completely ridiculous, insulting even. But that’s not a sufficient reason to flout it.
Pascal was a pretty smart guy
Mattingly delenda est.
Amen.
Like Big D in the last thread (who is both hopeful and nervous), I contain multitudes. I try to cultivate hope in my life generally. That part of me envisions the hitters knocking several out of the park and the “entire staff” approach to pitching shutting them down. But I also share in the anxiety and dread. I’ve seen so many Braves first round playoff losses in so many ways that a part of me is certain they will blow it again.
But actually I know that tonight’s game is a genuine tossup–it really could go either way. The teams are evenly matched. Last night didn’t prove that the Phillies have our number any more than the first game proved the opposite. The Braves’ long history of first round losses is not predictive of tonight. We have no idea what will happen. Yesterday everyone knew that if we could get to the late innings in a close game, our superior bullpen would give us a big advantage. Dom Smith starting the game may be a disaster or it may be brilliant, but it’s not likely to be decisive.
I also don’t buy for a minute that the team isn’t built to win the playoffs or that the organization doesn’t want to win in the playoffs. And Weiss may make decisions that we disagree with, but he and his bench coach and other coaches have at least as much information to draw upon as us randos on the internet.
Al I can say at this point is Go Braves!
I have to say I am neither overly optimistic nor pessimistic about tonight. As above, these two clubs are evenly matched and familiar with each other. The last 2 games could have gone either way. Good thing we got one of them. Don’t quite get Dom Smith at DH (or last night hitting for Murphy) but it is postseason baseball. Anything can happen and the least likely guy can easily turn to folk hero (see Cabrera, Francisco.)
Let’s go Braves!
i haven’t been this on edge for a Braves game in awhile.
EDIT:like, years, to be clear.
The ERA of the Braves starting pitcher is 3 full runs lower than that of the Phillies’ starter. Who says their rotation is superior?
Seriously, I’m counting on our guys roughing up Nola.
If Kerr does well, how long can/will he go?
I think you hit it.
If we don’t scorer early, we will likely lose. During the regular season we can play 7-9th inning baseball but not in the playoffs. Dom is a bad bet. Lee should have walked Harper once he gave up the HR to Schwarber and take our chances with Bohm and the rest. If Bohm went ahead and hit a HR so be it, but we should NEVER let Turner, Schwarber, or Harper beat us…..
I said at the beginning of the year that Dom was a bad hitter. I didin’t say anything when he got lucky at the baginning of the year, but he has reverted to his norm. It would be better to bet on Murphy regressing to his norm…..
P.S. I did like Didier in the 10th but did not like Lee in the 8th.
Edit: And look at that, Schwarber singles. Forget matchups; use your best pitchers.
Got to say I like having one of each team’s announcers on the broadcast. It always pissed me off when someone from New York or LA (Ron Darling in 2021 & Tommy Lasorda in 1991 were the worst) was used to make up for New York/LA teams not playing. (The Dodger broadcaster in 2020 or 2021 was very good, though, and I’ll take everyone’s word for it that the current Mets broadcasters are good.)
A scoreless top of the 1st! Already starting better than games 1 and 2
Money Mike to the rescue!
Mikey!!! First inning crooked number!
Switched to my red Acuna jersey for this one and so far so good. Pimped a walk and then a Harris bomb!
Kerr’s career splits are pretty dramatic.
RH hitters: .856 OPS
LH hitters: .601 OPS
Every time he gets a righty out, it feels like a gift.
Wonder if WW will let him see Schwarber & Harper one more time.
That’s what you pay Smith for: that 67 mph exit velocity.
Mike is so special.
Are we really gonna pitch Ray Kerr 4 innings?
Braves defense >>>>> Phillies defense
Dubon needs to be our everyday SS next year. Pay the man.
He’s making $14M less than Kim this year and surely more valuable.
Couldn’t agree more. I mentioned before the season that Kim was not a upgrade on him at SS in my opinion. Should’ve spent that money on a decent bat or another strong reliever
Ray Kerr made his best AJ Minter postseason impression.
Exactly what I was thinking, but we lost that game.
We did win the one when he had to come in for Uncle Charlie early.
Yeah… that year was much more fun.
I’d guess Kerr faces the 2 lefties, then he’s out.
Lousy plate appearance there from Matt. You need to be driving up Wheeler’s pitch count here. They want at least five innings from him.
Money Mike got ahead 2-0 and swung at 2 balls
Kerr is coming out for the 4th, ububba is likely right with his hunch.
Probably a bad decision to make Kerr do something he hasn’t done in years
He was over 50 pitches a couple of times in the minors. This was the plan for him once they saw he still had his stuff
Ray Kerr just pitched the game of his life, and after a performance like that I don’t think he’s gonna draw another minor league paycheck for a long, long time.
Ray Kerr… thank you for your service.
The old 1-1-1-3.
Sherlocks!
Absolutely outstanding job by Ray Kerr. He might have earned himself another start/open, if we can hang on here and Perez is still out.
Let’s go, Holmes. If Sherlocks has it working…
Ray Kerr acknowledging the crowd and sharing that moment with them as he walked off the field was so cool.
Yeah that was awesome
Yeah, that was great, the look on his face was just so uplifitng.
Great at bat there Riley
OZ!!!
Ozzzzie!
Albies!!
But don’t get cocky, kid. I’m still pained by ’96.
I always liked Votto as a hitter. But as an announcer he’s a clown. He just said that the Braves would not score again off Wheeler right before Ozzie took him deep.
He’s said some really bizarre things in this series. I was genuinely shocked when, after Bohm hit that RBI double in the first inning of Game 1, he basically said “that may have just won the series for the Phillies.” Like…what?
And CJ called him on it. But he is guilty of something that I for years called Chip-ism: confidently predicting outcomes in a game where outcomes can’t be predicted.
He’s had a lot of “hot takes” so far but other than the Harper bomb last night, the rest have been quite cold.
Was it Votto who said in the first that Harris was having a great series at the plate because of his first game, leaving it to another announcer to mention his two GiDPs yesterday?
OZHAINO!
Ozzie just murdered that ball.
Did even a full minute pass after Joey Votto said we wouldn’t score any more runs off of Wheeler? Lol, suck it Votto.
The Braves players look so focused today when they show their faces in the dugout. Just stay on it, no hibernation mode, boys. Keep adding on. Go Braves!
Olson has had some unreal picks at first tonight.
Olson’s picks are reminding me of all those great plays by Simmons that ended in bullets in the general direction of first base and Freeman making great picks.
Olson was flashing tonight for sure, he was incredible.
Kenny Powers livin’ right…
I have a buddy who calls him Ronnie Van Grant.
Damn, that is excellent.
Of course Dom is 2 for 2.
Defense! My 11 year old called for that double play. Might have to see how late I can get away with him staying up.
Also, gotta tip the hat to whoever picks the outro music for NBC. Flirtin’ with Disaster was a nice choice there.
I don’t think Votto has said anything since Ozzie’s homer.
Kruk is a national treasure.
He’s not good at actually talking, but he’s strangely likeable. He was a very underrated player as well IMO. Outstanding hitter.
He’s made me laugh more than once. Loved this last inning, “Still would have started Wheeler tonight.”
What’s the deal pulling Holmes so early?
Seems a little early to pull Holmes, with 11 outs to get, and a 5 run lead. I guess Walt is seeing three 100 mph batted balls off of Holmes. Just avoid any big innings and we’ll be ok.
Suarez looks good. Will he come back for the 7th? Who are they counting on for the next 9 outs?
I would go Suarez 7th, Dodd 8th (vs the lefties), Iggy 9th. But I’m not in charge.
Didi warming up in the bullpen. I don’t remember him ever working 3 days in a row. Makes me nervous.
It’s pretty clear that WW doesn’t want to give Schwarber and Harper any chance (which asks the question again…why Dylan Lee for a second day in a row against them last night?)
I have a confession to make. I resisted the DH for a long time because I thought it would take away from the strategy of the game. It has done everything but. It seems to allow more analytics because pitchers are inserted or removed because of matchups, not because they would have to bat.
Not to mention that the last couple of years pitchers were really automatic outs at the plate and most were unwatchable.
And the 3-batter minimum prevents one-batter substitutions that delay the game.
I really hate to see Sale warming up in bull pen with a 4 run lead.
Why is Sale warming up in the bullpen? That better be some off day throwing sessions.
Yeah we have a 4 run lead. Dodd can face Schwarber and Harper. If we move on, Sale could make 2 starts in the next round. This isn’t the World Series.
6-outs to get. I don’t care how they come about. It’s been very unconventional so far, but I’m ok with it.
If Crawford AND Turner get on, then yeah.
Cancel. Get me Dodd.
Olson bound to get one sooner or later. Yeah!
Three HRs is usually a great recipe for success.
Jesus do not pitch Sale tonight.
My 6-1 prediction…so close…
Hey, as long as we win. 5 more outs
4 more, and here comes Sale. Why? The crowd loves it, but – bases empty, 4 run lead. Ok. I guess it’s just for 1 batter.
Ok well that was fun. 4 pitches, you got your work in, see you for game 2 in LA. 3 more outs
Why??
EDIT – Ramp him up for the next round, I guess?
For the same reason a dog licks his balls.
Because they are there? 😉
It worked out. One batter. We need him for game 2.
One thing about Walt – he will stomp your neck if you give him a chance.
Chill everybody, this is Sale’s throw day so he won’t miss any time
I probably wouldn’t have used Sale there, but it was fun seeing him embarrass Harper like that.
Walt taking no chances tonight, I love it.
Or it’s not just 1 batter. Hmm
Managers. You have an entire team. Use them! I appreciate seeing Sale close this out. But I hope he has bigger things to do in this postseason. Please respect that.
Great job Big-D on your 6 to 1 prediction. I would not have pitched Sale, but it worked and I’m confident that they would not put his health in jeopardy.
Man, this one feels good. WHat a great performance. Go Braves!
Finally, a series win over the Phillies. Its been too long.
Bring on the Dodgers!
What is this weird feeling after the Braves win an elimination game?
Smells like victory!
Bring on the Dodgers. I ain’t skeert of them. Ohtaini is not 100% and Freeman has a bum knee last I heard. Yeah, they got the starters but I think we won the trade deadline sweepstakes (at considerably less cost) and Sale just shut them out last month (my upthread concern.) Oh, and by the way, we were 5-1 against them this year.
Let’s go Braves! Great win!!
I said they had to score early. Harris took care of that. Interesting to note that the first three walks scored. Scoring early made Luzardo and Wheeler irrelevant. I know you guys didn’t want to see Sale but I sure am glad he closed it out. I agree that WW was not taking any chances.
You think the HRs won but I think it was as much the walks… The Braves only had 6 hits….. and Dom had two of them. The Braves might have only had two solo HRs without the walks and might have faced Luzardo before the 3rd HR.
You mean Nola, not Luzardo (somewhat sad fate for Nola given what he was presented at his present skill.) And indeed, the walks have been critical. I’d like to see more of them.
No, I mean Luzardo. I think getting ahead made Mattingly not go to Luzardo as the Braves are death against lefties.
This is the ultimate Earl Weaver team – pitching, defense, and 3-run HRs. The only game the Braves did not win is the one the Braves did not hit a 3-run HR in…..Not sure the Braves will be able to count on 3-run HRs in future series.
BTW, if the Brave DO get to the WS, they lost series to NYY, TBR, and CWS. They did beat the LAD but tied MIL and lost to SDP.
How cool was it to see Ray Kerr soaking up the moment tonight?
Make plans, folks…
G1, Saturday, ATL @ LAD, 4 pm
G2, Sunday, ATL @ LAD, 8 pm
G3, Tuesday, LAD @ ATL, 6 pm
G4, Wednesday, LAD @ ATL, 6 pm
G5, Friday, ATL @ LAD, 8 pm
So nice to finally show the Phillies the door…
I need me a Ray Kerr t-shirt after last night’s performance. BreakingT needs to get on that, pronto.
Yes, same here. He got all the way up to Matzek and Minter-level for me with this performance.
Ray Kerr…Braves legend!
Awwwwwww.
https://x.com/PhlySprtsReprts/status/2105888749846737191
Edit: Not yet confirmed, darn it.
Kerr definitely entered Braves legend territory last night. That will not be forgotten by Braves fans. Very cool for him.
Wonder if there’s any thought to starting Holmes Game 1 in LA, since he only threw 28 pitches last night. Could piggyback with AJSS. Either that or…Elder? Do we know anything about Perez?
Holmes is definitely going to pitch bulk innings pretty soon. And Dylan Dodd, Victor Mederos, and AJSS are plenty rested, too, though the first two feel a little like depth arms than anything, and I appreciated Weiss’s relatively quick hook on both Dodd and Holmes last night, as neither one had the strike zone. Outside of the top two starters, one of whom twirled 21 pitches last night, we still don’t have enough pitching to match zeroes if our bats can’t break through.
Ray Kerr… man, what a story. He earned himself a piece of forever.