Braves Steal Miami’s Best Trick
The Atlanta Braves used Chris Sales as relief in a move that echoed Miami’s recent use of Sandy Alcantara out of the bullpen. Manager Walt Weiss didn’t wait for a traditional rotation schedule. He sent ace Chris Sale into the game for a short bullpen stint in the top of the eighth inning. This move came right after the Marlins used their own ace, Sandy Alcantara, to close a game on a light bullpen day earlier that month. Yahoo Sports reported the timing looked like a direct nod to that new trend. The Braves took a 6-2 lead and held it tight. Sale struck out Bryce Harper with two outs in the eighth. As he closed out the ninth, Otto Kemp, the pinch-hitter, and Bryan De La Cruz were both fanned. That is how you win a playoff series.
This wasn’t a desperate gamble. It was a calculated shift in how modern baseball gets played. The Marlins tested this idea when they had slim playoff chances. They let a starter pitch in a save situation for the first time in years. Now the Braves are using it to knock out a division rival. As Sun Sentinel’s Alanis Thames wrote regarding the Marlins’ plan, “As for Alcantara, while his relief-inning usage late in the season was in part out of necessity because of injuries in Miami’s bullpen, Bendix said the Marlins may explore continuing to use him and other starters in late-inning situations going forward.” The Braves didn’t just watch. They acted. They took a proven concept and applied it to the biggest stage.
Why The Phillies Couldn’t Stop It
The Philadelphia Phillies had no answer for this new pitching strategy. Their ace, Aaron Nola, got pulled early after allowing three runs in just 1 2/3 innings. He walked Ronald Acuña Jr. and Matt Olson before giving up a three-run homer to Michael Harris II in the first inning. Ray Kerr started for Atlanta and threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Weiss desired exactly that result, thus he paired left-handed hitters Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper at least once. Kerr allowed only one hit and one walk. Grant Holmes followed him and earned the win by allowing one run in two innings. The Phillies’ offense looked lost. They couldn’t adjust to the lefty-heavy attack. They lost the series 2-1 after a 4-3 win in 10 innings on Wednesday forced this final game. The Braves hit three home runs total to seal the deal.
Don Mattingly, the Phillies’ interim manager, knew the math was against them. He admitted that the Braves were simply better over the long haul. “Those guys kind of went start to finish in this division,” Mattingly said. “Over the course of the 162 (games), they were the best team in our division.” The regular season dominance carried over into the playoffs. Since their 2021 World Series victory, the Braves secured a postseason series for the first time. This is the team that has been waiting for this moment. They didn’t just win a game. They won the Wild Card Series in one fell swoop.
The Future Is Here And It Is Loud
Walt Weiss is not playing by the old rules. He is willing to use his ace in a five-run ball game to get a win. Most managers would protect their stars from this kind of risk. Weiss saw an opening and took it. The crowd at Truist Park felt the shift immediately. Lindsay Crosby of Braves Today captured the moment perfectly: “Annnnd Chris Sale is in the game. Truist got LOUD when that bullpen door opened. Two outs in the 8th and Bryce Harper is up to bat, with Atlanta holding a 6-2 lead.” That noise was the sound of a team taking control. The Phillies tried to force a crash landing, but the Braves had a parachute ready. Mattingly summed up the pain of losing the final game. “If you don’t win the last game, it’s a crash landing no matter what. It doesn’t matter where it is,” he said. The Braves avoid the crash. They move on to the Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The strategy worked. The future is now.
