Atlanta Braves drop NLDS to Phillies as starting pitching falters

For the first time since the 2020 NLCS, the Atlanta Braves have been eliminated from the postseason as they drop Game 4 of the NLDS to the Phillies, 8-3.

Plenty of conjecture will take place regarding the reasons for the sudden downfall of the Atlanta Braves in the playoffs in the coming days and weeks.

Some may turn around and blame the unprecedented five off-days before the Division Series, which has seen the 101-win Braves and 111-win Dodgers eliminated and the 99-win Yankees facing a dire 2-1 series deficit. The easy narrative for many to fall back on will be the Braves’ poor track record in day games, but as fans, we should look toward more tangible reasons as to why they lost.

The loss in Game 4 was simply a microcosm of the struggles that plagued the Braves for the entire series. Firstly, a general inability to generate pressure through baserunners and come up with timely hits, and most notably, starting pitching struggles.

The Atlanta Braves struggled to regularly establish baserunners.

After Game 1, the Braves had 15 total baserunners all series. Seven of these came in their only victory of the series in Game 2. They only had one in the win-or-go-home Game 4. Additionally, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone on base not named Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, Travis d’Arnaud, or Orlando Arcia.

Many of the few-and-far-between baserunners came with the Braves facing large deficits.

The bottom line is that while the Braves didn’t get the standard production from their stars in Dansby Swanson, Michael Harris, and Austin Riley, who combined for four hits across four games, they also didn’t get production from the 6-9 slots in the batting order. They combined to hit 6-55 over the span of the series, a .109 average.

Starting pitching for the Atlanta Braves only compounded the issues.

Game 4 starter Charlie Morton‘s three earned runs in two innings pitched provided the finishing touch on his, Max Fried, and Spencer Strider‘s 12 total earned runs in a collective 7.2 innings pitched. If not for Kyle Wright’s dazzling Game 2 performance, the Braves likely would not have lived to see a Game 4.

Without consistent starting pitching to help the Braves gameplan around their lights-out bullpen, they found it very difficult to utilize their strongest late-inning assets and keep the game under control.

If you’ve been following along with the Braves this season or even simply understand what it takes for a team to accrue 101 wins, it’s easy to see that these types of performances are exactly what the Braves were not doing over most of that timespan.

A busy offseason now awaits the Atlanta Braves.

With the playoffs out of the way, we can all take a breather and acknowledge the very real possibility that Dansby Swanson has seen his last at-bat as an Atlanta Brave.

Kenley Jansen, Adam Duvall, Robbie Grossman, Luke Jackson, Jesse Chavez, and possibly even Jake Odorizzi will also hit the open market this Winter, providing the Braves with important decisions to make. They cannot afford to leave holes in a team that was dominated comprehensively in the NLDS.

How the team decides to make its offseason moves will determine whether another article like this one has to be written next year.