Atlanta Braves: Reaction from Tuesday night’s NL Wild Card Game

The Atlanta Braves potential NLCS opponent has been narrowed to two after the Washington Nationals defeated the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night.

For all of you Atlanta Braves fans that didn’t stay up on Tuesday night and finish watching the opening act of the 2019 Playoffs, you missed a classic postseason battle.

The Washington Nationals achieved an exciting comeback win over the Milwaukee Brewers in the bottom of the eighth inning Tuesday night, thanks to a sharp line drive off the bat of Nats’ 20-year-old phenom, Juan Soto. The clutch hit came off noneother than Josh Hader — just the second single hit by a lefty hitter versus the Brewers’ go-to reliever.

With the Brewers up 3-1 and the Nationals threatening with the bases jammed, Soto’s line drive was misplayed by Milwaukee’s right fielder Trent Grisham, allowing all three runners to cross the plate before Soto was tagged out on his way to third. Nationals Park went absolutely nuts.

Let’s rewind a bit: When Nationals’ center fielder Victor Robles struck out swinging for the first out in the 8th, the Nats’ win expectancy stood at a pathetic 11.9%. After Soto’s clutch 3-run SINGLE… that number soared to 83.8%.

I’ve talked about WPA (win probability added) before, and Soto’s clutchness is what it’s all about.

The Nationals had trailed the entire game up until that moment, but one timely hit and one misplayed ball made all the difference. The Nationals won 4-1 and displayed a perfect example of how the Playoffs work in Major League Baseball.

What this means for the Braves?

So to the point of this piece. If you were like me and was pulling for a Brewers’ upset on Tuesday night — I feel your pain!

Even though the chances of them taking down the almighty Los Angeles Dodgers in the next round would’ve been minuscule (at best), a Brewers win last night would’ve at least offered some hope… hope that the Atlanta Braves could just maybe dodge one of the best starting rotations in baseball.

But unfortunately… here we are.

Now before we go any further, I am fully aware that I’m a bit ahead of myself. The Braves haven’t even started its NLDS series with the St. Louis Cardinals yet!

Admittedly, I tend to peek ahead at these things (I can’t help it!), so think of this as a hypothetical look at what lies ahead — a glimpse into the future, if everything goes well this weekend.

So now the Atlanta Braves are certain to face either the No. 1 rotation in the majors (Nationals) or the No. 2 staff (Dodgers), as both teams’ wield 2019’s most dominant starters in the majors.

2019 Rotation WAR

• Nationals: 21.4 WAR (1st)
• Dodgers:   19.8 WAR (2nd)

Sure, the Nationals’ Max Scherzer wasn’t his usual self against the Brewers on Tuesday night (5 IP, 3 ER, 6 K, 2 HR), perhaps still recovering from his IL stint (back).

But that doesn’t make a potential Braves-Nationals NLCS sound any more appealing; not with Stephen Strasburg in the mix — who needed just 34 pitches to cruise through three innings against the Brewers, striking out four. And even after Strasburg … there Patrick Corbin awaits.

And what about Option 2? a League Championship Series versus the Dodgers?

Then the Braves must face Clayton Kershaw (3.4 WAR, 3.05 ERA), Walker Buehler (5 WAR, 3.26 ERA) and Hyun-Jin Ryu (4.8 WAR, 2.32 ERA), plus a plethora of options, featuring multiple starter-turned-relievers who enable LA to avoid turning towards its more bland pitching group — its bullpen.

But don’t take this the wrong way. Don’t let me be a debbie downer and ruin this ultra exciting time the Atlanta Braves are in. They made the Playoffs!

All I’m saying is that the Brewers’ loss on Tuesday night instantly put more pressure on the Braves’ lineup, a lineup that is a bit banged up at the moment as both Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna Jr. have dealt with recent ailments (not to mention Ender Inciarte, Charlie Culberson and Johan Camargo).

We’ve recently discussed concerns regarding the Braves’ defense, rotation, and as I mentioned above, the health of the team’s star players; but perhaps now it might be time to worry about the offense and whether or not it can produce if its forced to face either of these two rotation juggernauts later on in the tourney.

I found myself with two reactions from Tuesday night’s game, as the Nationals jumped up and down with joy, celebrating a crazy comeback win:

1) Yep, that’s playoff baseball and… 2) I hope Freddie, Acuna and the Braves’ lineup are ready.

We’ll find out tomorrow evening at 5:02 p.m. (CNT).