Braves announce playoff roster against Padres with wild pitching changes

Atlanta Braves fans felt a sense of relief after the team won their final game of the season to get into the postseason. Unfortunately, that relief ended rather quickly as the team boarded a plane to face the red-hot San Diego Padres in a best-of-three series.

There were question marks to consider for Atlanta's roster for the Wild Card series. Chris Sale is dealing with back spasms and won't be able to pitch this series. Grant Holmes and Spencer Schwellenbach won't pitch because they each started a game Monday. This left the Braves with a hard decision to make for game one of the NL Wild Card.

The rosters were announced Tuesday and two familiar faces were added to the roster to replace the absences of Schwellenbach and Sale.

Bryce Elder and AJ Smith-Shawver were added to the roster and the Braves decided to start AJ Smith-Shawver for game one. With the bullpen taxed after yesterday's doubleheader, they will likely piggyback off of one another to cover as many innings as possible.

Reynaldo Lopez and Max Fried will be the options to start games two and three of the series. The only other surprise addition to the roster is Eli White making it over Adam Duvall. Even then, it isn't that surprising since Adam struggled all season long.

The remainder of the roster stays the same as the Braves get ready to face one of the best teams in Major League Baseball. No one expects Atlanta to win the series and maybe that's where fans should want them to be. It's been a while since the Braves have been considered an underdog.

How to watch Braves vs Padres, start times, and Game 1 starting lineup

Below you will find details about each game, where you can watch, and the lineup for the first game of the Wild Card series.

Game times for Braves vs Padres

Game 1: Braves at Padres, 8:38 p.m. EST, ESPN

Game 2: Braves at Padres, 8:38 p.m. EST, ESPN2

Game 3: Braves at Padres, 7:08 p.m. EST (if needed), ESPN

Where to watch/stream Braves vs Padres

You can watch games one and three on ESPN but game two will feature on ESPN2. The Padres have announced all of their starters for the series but the Braves have only announced starters for games one and two. Smith-Shawver will start game one and Max Fried for game two. San Diego will start Michael King for the first game and follow with Joe Musgrove and Dylan Cease.

Should the Braves force a game three of this series, Reynaldo Lopez seems the most likely candidate to begin that game. However, the team has to get there first.

Starting lineup for Braves vs Padres Game One

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