ATLANTA– Freddie Freeman didnt have an issue with Reds ace and Game 1 starter Trevor Bauer stating, “We can speak about it after we win the series,” when asked whether it was harder to pitch to Freeman or Marcell Ozuna.
” If any person didnt believe they were going to win
ATLANTA– Freddie Freeman didnt have an issue with Reds ace and Game 1 starter Trevor Bauer stating, “We can discuss it after we win the series,” when asked whether it was harder to pitch to Freeman or Marcell Ozuna.
– NL Wild Card Series provided by Hankook Tire, Game 1: Wed., midday ET on ESPN
Wednesdays opener of this best-of-three National League Wild Card Series pits the top NL Cy Young Award candidate in Bauer against the Braves potent lineup that produced MLBs leading OPS.
” If anyone didnt believe they were going to win the series on either side, they should not be here,” Freeman stated Tuesday. “I certainly heard what he stated the other day, but its all in enjoyable. Were all having a good time. In baseball, its actually tough to talk trash. You cant throw harder. You cant truly swing harder, since thats typically going to give you the opposite effect of what you desire. Its all fun. Its all excellent. Were simply thrilled to play tomorrow.”
Video Game Date Time Matchup TV
Gm 3 * Oct. 2 && 3 p.m. CIN @ ATL ESPN
Gm 1 Sept. 30 12 p.m. CIN @ ATL ESPN
It has actually long been stated that good pitching beats excellent offense in the playoffs. Theres something special about this Braves unit, which is topped by Ronald Acuña Jr., Freeman and Ozuna, who all ranked amongst the NLs top 6 in Weighted Runs Created Plus this year.
Gm 2 Oct. 1 ^ 12 p.m. CIN @ ATL ESPN
” I cant say were going to go out and score eight or 10 runs a game,” supervisor Brian Snitker said. These are some really excellent players, as theyve shown versus some guys who have actually been riding quite excellent years.
Here are 3 reasons that the Braves might emerge victorious when Max Fried compares versus Bauer in Game 1:
1. Success against frontline startersTheres no question Bauer had a remarkable season, as he constructed a NL-best 1.73 ERA and ranked 4th in MLB with 2.5 Wins Above Replacement, per FanGraphs. However due to the regional schedule teams played during this shortened season, seven of his 11 starts came against either the Brewers, Pirates or Tigers, who accounted for three of the seven worst WRC+ overalls produced by any MLB group in 2020.
Bauer remembers it as the night when he left in the seventh since as he stated that night “It didnt seem like they desired to hit tonight. It appeared like they were looking to take pitches and nasty pitches off.”
Freeman, who has long produced one of the games greatest in-zone swing portions, still gets a chuckle when he considers willingly lengthening at-bats on a 40-degree night in Cleveland.
” When you have great stuff like Trevor Bauer, Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray, its really difficult to hit those pitches and hit them square,” Freeman said. Were attempting to hit those pitches in the strike zone.
Bauer enabled five runs over the 11 innings he amounted to in 2 starts versus the Braves in 2015. He made his Reds debut at Truist Park on Aug. 3, 2019, throwing 107 pitches over 4 2/3 innings.
Now Bauer needs to deal with a Braves team that produced an MLB-best.852 OPS against right-handed starters. Freeman led the game with a 1.228 OPS against righties. Travis dArnaud (1.026 ), Acuña (1.020) and Ozuna (1.002) likewise ranked among the league leaders.
When it comes to the Braves, who ranked third in the Majors with 121 WRC+, they faced four beginners– Jacob de Grom, Zack Wheeler, Austin Nola and Max Scherzer– who ranked among MLBs leading 20 in fWAR this year. Those 4 combined to produce a 3.63 ERA against Atlanta. However it ought to be explained much of that damage came courtesy of the four sixth-inning runs scored versus Scherzer on Sept. 13.
The Braves went 3-4 in the seven games they matched up against among these four starters, but they also tagged Yankees ace Gerrit Cole for a season-high 5 runs over simply 5 innings on Aug. 26.
” Weve faced some actually great pitching,” Snitker said. “Weve faced some Cy Young guys all year. I have great self-confidence our guys will have an excellent method and be prepared for the difficulty.”
3. Success versus the fastballIf Bauer is able to get ahead with his fastball and command both of his breaking pitches, he will be difficult to beat. However one secret to the Braves success this year has actually been the ability to consistently do harm against fastballs.
Per Baseball Savant, the Braves hit an MLB-best.304 and ranked fourth with a. 547 slugging portion produced against four-seam fastballs, a pitch Bauer will throw 40 percent of the time.
Ozuna hit an MLB-high.492 versus four-seamers and Freeman ranked 4th with a. 471 average. In terms of slugging percentage versus this pitch, Freeman ranked fifth (.941) and Ozuna (.932) sixth.
” If anybody didnt think they were going to win the series on either side, they should not be here,” Freeman said Tuesday.” When you have excellent things like Trevor Bauer, Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray, its really tough to strike those pitches and hit them square,” Freeman said. Now Bauer has to face a Braves team that produced an MLB-best.852 OPS versus right-handed beginners. Freeman led the game with a 1.228 OPS against righties. Success versus the fastballIf Bauer is able to get ahead with his fastball and command both of his breaking pitches, he will be difficult to beat.
Mark Bowman has actually covered the Braves for MLB.com given that 2001.
