Braves Playoff Rotation Concerns
Braves Face Marlins as Rotation Concerns and Injuries Mount Before Playoffs
Anonymous
Atlanta visits Miami for the teams’ next-to-last game of the regular season, with the Braves already having clinched the NL East and the eliminated Marlins finishing a disappointing year. Atlanta is using left-hander Brent Suter as an opener, while Miami is expected to turn to Jack Ralston, who has worked exclusively in relief in the majors and recently pitched on consecutive days. Suter has been effective since joining Atlanta and may be asked to cover multiple innings, while Ralston’s workload suggests Miami is unlikely to get a long outing from him. The Braves are also managing rotation concerns ahead of the playoffs: Martin Pérez is injured and expected to miss at least the opening rounds, and Bryce Elder is also on the injured list. At the plate, Atlanta’s Matt Olson has 41 home runs and Michael Harris II is hitting .290, though both were held hitless in their most recent games against Miami.
Key Points
1
Brent Suter has a 3.48 ERA over 88 innings this season, and his ERA since joining Atlanta is about 1.82 over 24⅔ innings. His results have come largely through weak contact: his average exit velocity allowed is 86.2 mph and his hard-hit rate allowed is 30.6%.
2
Miami’s left-handed hitters have performed better against Suter than right-handed hitters have this season, posting a .789 OPS compared with about .666 for righties—a matchup detail that could make the left-handed part of the Marlins lineup a tougher opening assignment.
3
Atlanta’s postseason rotation picture also includes Chris Sale (14-9, 2.16 ERA) and Grant Holmes (10-6, 3.44 ERA), while Tyler Mahle has gone 4-1 with a 1.99 ERA for the Braves after arriving from San Francisco, where he had a 5.13 ERA.
4
Braves manager Walt Weiss said of the rotation uncertainty, “It's business as usual. The way things have gone this year, somebody's probably going to get a bigger opportunity and make something of it.”
5
Atlanta is giving Dominic Smith a postseason tune-up at designated hitter, batting him eighth, while Miami catcher Joe Mack—who had been the previous night’s hero—is getting the day off.
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