The pitching decisions Walt Weiss and the Atlanta Braves have made during the first two games of the NLDS versus the Los Angeles Dodgers has been the root of countless debates already. From the use of openers in both games in Los Angeles, to who came followed those openers, the Braves somehow managed these decisions well enough to come back to Atlanta tied in the series.
One of the biggest controversies from Game 1 ended up being one of the biggest reasons for why Atlanta was able to accomplish this. Although leaving Robert Suarez sitting in the bullpen in the series opener on Saturday seemed like a headscratcher, the righty's ability to extinguish a massive fire made Weiss look like a genius on Sunday.
Braves' gambit with Robert Suarez pays off in Game 2 after controversial Game 1 bullpen decision
As much the Braves and fans alike would want big offseason acquisition Robert Suarez to be at full health, it's clear that the Braves don't believe Suarez is fully healthy, as he was unavailable in Game 1 despite having only thrown once in the playoffs
The Braves bullpen struggled in Game 1, and the lack of urgency and staying away from Suarez felt like a massive gamble. However, Weiss likely knew on Saturday that Chris Sale wouldn't be starting Game 2. Knowing this, Weiss also knew that he'd need 18 innings from his bullpen likely played into his decision to stay away from his high leverage arms while the Braves trailed in Game 1.
This, of course, was a massive gamble. Although Ray Kerr well exceeded expectations versus the Phillies in the final game of the Wild Card Series, there was no guarantee he'd be able to do it again. If the Braves fell behind early, saving their big guns would have been for naught.
Thankfully, Kerr was just as impressive against the Dodgers as he was against the Phillies. His ability to get eight outs allowed Weiss to be aggressive with the bullpen, which included deploying their $45 million reliever in the fifth inning to put out a huge fire.
Dylan Lee allowed the first two runners to reach in the fifth. Weiss summoned a well-rested Robert Suarez to face Will Smith, Freddie Freeman, and Teoscar Hernandez to try and keep the lead. Although Suarez got into a few deep counts, he was able to retire all three, including a strikeout of Hernandez to keep the Braves lead in tact, and allowed the Braves to turn it over to Didier Fuentes to start the sixth inning.
Had Suarez pitched on Saturday, there was virtually no chance he would be able to appear in back-to-back games, at least with how the Braves have managed his workout this postseason. Although it was a massive gamble to hold him back on Saturday, it allowed Weiss to go all in on his high-leverage arms on Sunday to steal a win versus the Dodgers.
Add us as a preferred source on Google