SAN DIEGO – Fernando Tatis Jr. cranked a first-pitch fastball high and far into the San Diego sky, sending this crowd into a frenzy. Tatis held his pose on the swing and AJ Smith-Shawver could only watch, then attempt to regroup.
The Padres had a two-run lead after two batters against Smith-Shawver. It seemed like an ominous start to a postseason game on the road – the type of beginning that spirals into a blowout.
This did not happen, though. The Braves deployed their low-leverage relievers and those guys … kept them in the game!
The Braves did not lose Tuesday’s Game 1 of the wild-card series, 4-0, to San Diego at Petco Park because of Smith-Shawver or the relievers who followed him. They were defeated because of an offense that was dominated by Padres pitching.
And just like that, the Braves are facing elimination on Wednesday, when Max Fried takes on San Diego’s Joe Musgrove to attempt to save Atlanta’s season.
Recent wild-card history is not on the Braves’ side. But they’ve displayed resiliency this season.
Can they do it once more?
Five observations:
1. In the bottom of the second inning, Braves manager Brian Snitker departed the dugout to pull Smith-Shawver, who recorded only four outs. Snitker inserted Aaron Bummer.
Bummer went 2 2/3 scoreless innings.
Jesse Chavez threw two scoreless innings.
Luke Jackson surrendered a run over two innings.
In the hours leading up to this game, the conversation centered around Atlanta’s pitching plans. Who would the Braves start? Would the Braves’ pitching give them a chance to win?
This topic – whether the Braves should’ve started Smith-Shawver – is the wrong talking point.
“You’ve still got to punch back and score,” Snitker said. “It wasn’t who we started. We just couldn’t get anything going against their starter.”
San Diego’s Michael King tossed seven scoreless innings. He struck out 12 batters and didn’t walk any. The Braves managed five hits but couldn’t do any damage. The Braves then flailed against two Padres relievers. The Braves struck out 15 times, matching a postseason high in a nine-inning game for the franchise.
The Padres became the first team in postseason history to strike out at least 15 batters in a game without issuing a walk or allowing a run. They did it against the Braves, who have struggled against pitchers good and bad.
“(Our bullpen) did a phenomenal job, but their pitchers did as well,” Michael Harris II said. “We just gotta try to capitalize in some of those situations where we get on base, and try to score some runs.”
2. Over the years, a huge part of the Braves’ identity has been their no-quit attitude. They are fighters. They are relentless. They do not die.
Their next challenge will be difficult.
In the first two seasons of the best-of-three wild-card series format, no team that has lost Game 1 has advanced. The team that took Game 1 won the series all eight times.
And only one went to three games: In 2022, the Padres beat the Mets in the decisive third game.
The message for the Braves as they try to save their season on Wednesday?
“Here we go,” Travis d’Arnaud said. “It’s almost like (Monday). It’s win or go home. We all kind of know what the situation is, and we’ll be ready to play.”
With their backs against the wall, the Braves plan to pass their latest test.
“We know what’s at stake tomorrow,” Harris said. “We gotta come out and be ourselves, not try to do too much at the same time. Today didn’t feel as one-sided as it looked, as the score showed. I feel like, for most of the game, it was a pretty quiet game on both sides.”
3. On Monday, the Braves told Smith-Shawver he was a candidate to start Game 1. At around 11 a.m. Tuesday, Smith-Shawver found out he’d be starting. He went through his normal preparation.
This was a difficult spot for his first postseason start.
“He came ready to go, he was amped up, looked really good in the bullpen,” d’Arnaud said. “Unfortunately, they were able to capitalize on a couple mistakes.”
The big one: Smith-Shawver threw Tatis a 94-mph fastball in – where he likes it. It went 415 feet. Smith-Shawver was trying to throw that fastball away, but it stayed in and caught too much of the plate.
He hit the leadoff man in the second inning. That became the third run.
“It obviously didn’t go how you draw it up, but that’s baseball, it happens sometimes,” Smith-Shawver said of his start. “Tatis likes it in, kind of left one up, and then just tried to bounce back that next inning, curveball hits him in the back of the foot. You need to get that first guy out to be successful, and just kind of shot myself in the foot a few times today.”
Again, though …
“It wasn’t because of who we started that we didn’t win this game,” Snitker said. “We couldn’t get anything going offensively.”
4. A positive for the Braves: They stayed away from their best relievers.
They’ll presumably have Raisel Iglesias, Joe Jiménez, Pierce Johnson and Dylan Lee available Wednesday. It’ll be all hands on deck as they try to force a Game 3.
5. Three years ago, Fried went into Minute Maid Park and shut down Houston to close out the Astros and win the World Series. He has pitched in the biggest games. He knows what it takes.
With their season on the brink, the Braves will turn to him.
“Oh, all the confidence in the world,” d’Arnaud said. “He’s been in big games like this. He steps up in big games like this, and there’s no one else we’d rather want in the world.”
The Braves don’t have Chris Sale, but they do have Fried. The lefty has been one of their rotation anchors for the last several seasons.
“The guy’s gone out there and done it,” Bummer said. “He’s pitched in the World Series, he’s done a whole handful of things. I’m excited to watch him pitch and I know that he’s gonna go out there and he’s gonna compete as well as I can. I don’t want anybody else out there other than Max right now.”
Stat to know
15 - The Braves’ 15 strikeouts tied the most they’ve ever had in a nine-inning postseason contest. They’d done it three times previously: In 2022 against the Phillies, in 2013 against the Dodgers and in 1997 against the Marlins.
Quotable
“I feel like we’ve been punched in the face all year long. It’s nothing different than we’ve faced all year long. We’ve been in the face of adversity for six months now, there’s no question about that. It’s the same thing: We just gotta go out there and play tomorrow, win tomorrow and move on from today.” - Bummer
Up next
Wednesday’s game begins at 8:38 p.m.
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