The Atlanta Braves are back in the postseason thanks to a strong second half and the struggles of the Pirates, Cardinals, and Dodgers. They will host the one-game Wild Card Playoff on Oct. 5th against the Cardinals (barring a final week collapse by St. Louis).
The pitching staff has been strong as of late with three of the five starters with 10 wins and another (Kris Medlin with nine wins in 11 starts.
Kris Medlin – 9 – 1 1.64 ERA 0.92 WHIP 116 K’s
Tim Hudson – 16 – 6 3.61 ERA 1.22 WHIP 98 K’s
Tommy Hanson – 13 – 9 4.38 ERA 1.45 WHIP 155 K’s
Mike Minor – 10 – 10 4.27 ERA 1.18 WHIP 141 K’s
Paul Maholm – 4 – 4 3.65 ERA 1.20 WHIP 51 K’s
If the Braves choose to go with a four-man rotation in the postseason, look for Maholm to be the odd man out while it looks like Medlin would get the ball for the 1-game playoff.
The offense is led by Jason Heyward (.269 AVG, 27 HR, 79 RBI), Freddie Freeman (.265 AVG, 22 HR, 93 RBI), and Brian McCann (.227 AVG, 20 HR, 67 RBI). They have speed in Michael Bourn (39/51 SB), Heyward (20/28 SB), and Martin Prado (17/21 SB). The big story of the season for the Braves is the farewell tour of Chipper Jones. In his final season before retirement, he hasn’t taken the opportunity to just be here to enjoy the ride, he’s contributed by batting .292 with 14 homers and 62 RBI’s in 107 games played. The Braves don’t want Chipper to go out without a bang and they have a chance to give him one heck of a going away party.
Atlanta’s Record against other playoff teams:
Vs. St. Louis – 5 – 1
Vs. Cincinnati – 1 – 5
Vs. Washington – 8 – 10
Vs. LA Dodgers – 3 – 3
Vs. San Fransisco – 3 – 4
Photo Credits: Talking Chops
