Atlanta Braves first potential postseason opponent: the Reds

Permutations are plentiful, and the situation could pivot every day. The Atlanta Braves could influence who places second in the NL East and help themselves by winning tonight.

The Cubs lost to the Pirates again today, which means the Braves need one more win to clinch the second seed and lock in on the seventh-seeded team for the Wildcard Series. As I write this, that’s the Giants; Who’d a thunk it?  Manager Brian Snitker told David O’Brien that seeding isn’t that important because everyone who makes it to postseason is dangerous (Twitter link)

He’s right, postseason is a crapshoot, but your odds get better when you stay away from the best pitching, so I believe he will try to make that happen tonight. The Braves finish the season against the Red Sox and should grab at least one from them, but locking it up tonight is ideal.

The 28-28 Marlins are currently in second place, one game ahead of the Phillies in the lost column, but Philadelphia has a game in hand. If the Atlanta Braves beat the Fish tonight, the idle Phillies and Fish are tied for second in the east.

Miami moves on to Face the Yankees in New York. It’s hard to see the Fish grabbing two games there.

The Phillies finish the season with three against the Rays who locked up the AL East last night. The Rays aren’t going to throw everything out there to be the Phillies, and if the Phillies lineup scores early, they could grab a win or two, despite having the bullpen from hell.

Those other guys

The Reds at 29-28 (.5087719) are percentage points behind the 27-26 Cardinals (.5094339). Cincinnati heads to Minnesota to tangle with a Twins team fighting to hold on the first place in the AL Central.

The Cardinals play the Brewers tonight and four more times in the next three days. The Redbirds offense hasn’t arrived this year, and they lost two pitchers ninth least three days; no, I don’t feel sorry for them. The Brewers aren’t exactly killing it this year either.

I expect (hope) the Reds to eke out second in the central and Milwaukee to push the Cardinals out of postseason play. I promise not to feel sorry for St Louis. If the Reds move into second, the Brewers and Giants join the second-place team in the NL East as potential opponents for the Atlanta Braves in the first round of the playoffs.

The Giants are leading Colorado 3-0 this afternoon, then move host the Padres to end the season. The Padres lost Mike Clevinger for at least a week or two after he left Wednesday’s game with right-bicep tightness, and can’t catch the Dodgers, which means they won’t stress their pitching fighting for a win.

That’s a wrap

The Atlanta Braves need to continue to win; bad things happen when you take your foot off the accelerator before beginning a tournament. Manager Brian Snitker rested Austin Riley last night tonight with a minor quad issue. He’s fine and could play today but Snitker wants to give Adeiny Hechavarria more at-bats since he hasn’t played often.

In a radio interview – sorry, no link – Alex Anthopoulos said the club would make roster changes for the postseason.  Dropping from 16 pitchers to 14 while adding a third catcher and bench bat seems to make sense.

There’s no way of knowing who they’ll decide to call up. Johan Camargo is versatile enough to fill in anywhere if there’s an injury, but if they want a bat and Camargo hasn’t improved, the team might take a flier on Pablo Sandoval or Scott Schebler.

Perhaps calling up William Contreras solves two problems. He’s shown he’s not scared of major league pitching, and catching skills are good enough to play. He and Camargo are the best bets at this point, but without access to Camp Grenada, it’s all a guess.

We’ll know by Monday, and when we do, we’ll let you know here at the Take.