How this Atlanta Braves offense has fared against top pitchers

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PHILADELPHIA, PA – JULY 13: Starting pitcher Aaron Nola #27 of the Philadelphia Phillies throws a pitch in the fifth inning during a game against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park on July 13, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Nationals won 4-3. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /

Results against postseason pitchers

And this is where things really get interesting because these are the pitchers the Atlanta Braves are going to have to beat if they’re going to succeed in the postseason this year.

Aaron Nola – March 28 – 6 IP, 2 H, 5 BB, 1 ER, 8 K; June 15 – 4.1 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 5 ER, 4 K; July 1 – 8 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 0 ER, 8 K; July 28 – 6.2 IP, 7 H, 3 BB, 4 ER, 8 K

Obviously, the Atlanta Braves face Nola a bunch, and he’s one of the best pitchers in baseball. But the offense was able to get to him for four or more runs twice. He really only dominated us once this year.

Kyle Hendricks – April 1 – 4.1 IP, 10 H, 3 BB, 7 R (2ER), 4 K

The Cubs really struggled defensively early this season, and the Braves took advantage of that against them and Hendricks as he gave up 5 unearned runs. But he also gave up 10 hits, so the Braves hit him pretty well.

Jon Lester – April 3 – 6 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 2 ER, 7 K; June 24 – 6 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, 2 R (0 ER), 7 K

Lester is a big postseason pitcher that the Atlanta Braves might have to face, and he’s held them to just 2 earned runs on 11 hits in 12 innings this year with 14 strikeouts — not good for the Braves.

Chase Anderson – May 18 – 4 IP, 2 H , 4 BB, 1 R (0 ER), 3 K; July 17 – 5.2 IP, 1 H, 3 BB, 0 ER, 3 K

Chase Anderson doesn’t strike me as a top pitcher, but his stats say otherwise. He’s had some very odd starts against the Braves this year but hasn’t given up an earned run in 9.2 innings.

Brandon Woodruff – May 19 – 8 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, 2 ER, 6 K; July 16 – 6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 1 ER, 7 K

Anderson’s pitching mate, Woodruff, does scare me as he has dominated the Atlanta Braves in two starts this year.

The Dodgers trio

Walker Buehler – May 6 – 7 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, 3 ER, 8 K

Hyun-Jin Ryu – May 7 – 9 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 6 K

Clayton Kershaw – May 8 – 6.2 IP, 9 H, 1 BB, 4 ER, 4 K

The trio of Buehler, Ryu, and Kershaw is what scares me the most in the postseason. Hopefully if we have to face them it’s in the NLCS. Those three are tough to get through as the Atlanta Braves witnessed in early May.

The Nationals trio

Stephen Strasburg – May 28 – 7 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 11 K; June 21 – 6 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 3 ER, 5 K; July 18 – 5.1 IP, 8 H, 2 BB, 3 ER, 7 K

Patrick Corbin – July 19 – 5 IP, 8 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 5 K; July 29 – 6 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 2 ER, 8 K

The Atlanta Braves have avoided Max Scherzer this year, but we all know what he’s capable of. Strasburg and Corbin have both held down the Braves offense as well.

American League

Zack Greinke – May 10 – 7 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, 1 ER, 7 K

With Greinke on the Astros now he has a good chance of pitching in the postseason and the World Series, and that’s bad news for the Atlanta Braves.

Jake Odorizzi – August 5 – 6 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 1 ER, 7 K

This was a weird game as the Atlanta Braves hitters were all over the bases, but they weren’t able to get that big hit to knock Odorizzi out of the game and he ended up with a quality start.

Jose Berrios – August 6 – 5.2 IP, 9 H, 4 BB, 7 K

This is the best performance the Atlanta Braves lineup has put against a top pitcher. They jumped all over Berrios and tagged him for 9 earned runs. However, Berrios still managed to strikeout seven batters.

Corey Kluber – April 20 – 7 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 ER, 8 K

Kluber is making his way back from injury and could be a big part of the Indians postseason success. The Atlanta Braves did fairly well against him earlier this year despite striking out eight times.

Shane Bieber – April 21 – 2.1 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 7 R (5 ER), 3 K

They say Bieber is a clone of Kulber, but that wasn’t the case when the Atlanta Braves lineup touched him up for 5 earned runs in just 2-plus innings.

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