Is home an advantage for Braves in finale?
10 visiting teams have eliminated Atlanta from the postseason
The Braves are back in the A-T-L for a decisive postseason game.
That’s not necessarily a good omen for the home team.
Over the years, Atlanta has been the place where other teams come to celebrate in October.
The St. Louis Cardinals hope to continue that trend when they face the Braves in Game 5 of the NL Division Series on Wednesday.
“I was just a little kid when that happened,” Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson said with a shrug. “History is history. We’re in the moment now. This is a completely different and new team.”
Indeed, Swanson was just 7 years old when Atlanta began a streak of nine straight postseason-round losses with a fivegame setback to Arizona in the 2001 NL Championship Series.
Still, it ’s impossible to ignore that the Braves are just one series loss away from equaling an ignominious record set by the Chicago Cubs, who lost 10 series in a row between 1908 and 2003.
Chicago finally ended its playoff misery in Game 5 of the ‘03 NL Division Series — at Turner Field, of all places. In fact, it became a bit of a running gag that one of baseball’s most popular spots for celebratory pictures was the pitcher’s mound in Atlanta, since nine visiting teams eliminated the Braves at their previous ballpark, with the Cardinals doing it twice.
The move to Suntrust Park in 2017 didn’t change Atlanta’s fortunes.
Last season, the Braves were closed out at home by the Dodgers in Game 4 of the NLDS.
The pitching matchup will be a rematch of Game 2, when Atlanta’s Mike Foltynewicz outdueled Jack Flaherty of the Cardinals for a 3-0 victory.
The Braves desperately need to get the middle of their lineup going after hitting a combined 10 of 70 (.143) with one homer and three RBIS.
Marcell Ozuna (.471) and Paul Goldschmidt (.438) are leading the St. Louis offense.