Braves face Phillies, looking for payback
The Atlanta Braves walked off the field a year ago a thoroughly beaten team, their defense of the World Series championship wiped out in less than a week.
Now, they've got another shot at the team that delivered the playoff heartache.
The 104-win Braves romped to their sixth straight division title with the major leagues' best record and a power-packed lineup that tied the major league record with 307 homers.
They open the best-of-five NL Division Series on Saturday against the Philadelphia Phillies in a much-anticipated postseason rematch.
“A really cool series on paper, right?” Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber said before a workout at Truist Park. “I'm sure a lot of people wish that this could be a seven-game series.”
Led by MVP favorite Ronald Acuña Jr., the first player with 40 homers and 70 stolen bases in a season, the Braves are eager to replicate their run to the World Series championship in 2021.
They'd prefer to forget what happened last October.
After finishing 14 games behind Atlanta during the regular season, the Phillies stunned the Braves in the NLDS.
It wasn't that close, either. After splitting the first two games in Atlanta, the Phillies finished off the series by winning the final two on their home field by a combined 17-4.
Philadelphia's upset of the Braves was part of an improbable postseason run that didn't end until the World Series, when the Phillies finally ran out of steam in a loss to the Houston Astros.
They are determined to
finish the job in 2023, and certainly looked up to the task by making quick work of Miami in the wild card round.
Philadelphia swept the upstart Marlins by scores of 4-1 and 7-1, the clincher capped by Bryson Stott's grand slam.
In an effort to maintain their edge while sitting out a first-round bye, the Braves — who won the season series with the Phillies 8-5 — played three intrasquad games at Truist Park.
They hope the change in tactics will lead to a sharper performance against the Phillies this time around. ACUNA'S BIG MOMENT >> After his historic season, Acuña is eager to shine in the playoffs — especially since he missed out on Atlanta's World Series title two years ago.
Acuña went down with a season-ending knee injury in 2021, and didn't make much of an impact in last year's NLDS.
The Braves are expecting more this time around. A lot more.
Acuña has plenty of help behind him in the batting order.
Matt Olson set franchise records with 54 homers and 139 RBIs. Marcell Ozuna bounced back from an awful start to hit 40 homers with 100 RBIs. Albies had 33 homers and
109 RBIs, while Austin Riley chipped in with 37 homers and 97 RBIs.
STRIDER'S STRIKEOUTS >> Olson wasn't the only Atlanta player to set a new franchise standard.
Expected Game 1 starter Spencer Strider broke John Smoltz's record for strikeouts, leading the majors with 281 Ks in 186 2/3 innings.
The 24-year-old righthander is also the major leagues' only 20-game winner, finishing with a 20-5 mark.
RANGER REDUX >> The Phillies are going with Ranger Suárez, just as they did in Game 1 of last year's NLDS, even though the left-hander went only 4-6 with a 4.18 ERA in a season plagued by injuries.
Suárez struggled with his control against the Braves in last year's NLDS, walking five in 3 1/3 innings, but the Phillies held on for a 7-6 victory. He went on to be one of Philadelphia's most effective postseason pitchers working as both starter and reliever, going 2-0 with a save and a 1.23 ERA.
Suárez got the nod for Game 1 over 15-game winner Taijuan Walker. Zack Wheeler (13-6, 3.61) and Aaron Nola (12-9, 4.46) will start the next two games for the Phillies.