The Atlanta Braves are coming off one of the greatest regular seasons we've ever witnessed, but if they come up short in October again that's all most will remember.
It's the unfortunate reality of Major League Baseball -- you play a daunting 162-game schedule and it all comes down to how you perform in October. And for the past year-plus, the Atlanta Braves have looked nothing like their regular-season selves in the postseason. We can make all of the excuses in the world for why that might be the case, but the bottom line is, nobody cares about the excuses -- only results. And while the first three games of this year's NLDS are oddly familiar to last year's NLDS, Spencer Strider, and the Atlanta Braves have the chance to change that narrative on Thursday night in Game 4.
Strider proved in Game 1 that he's healthy this year and capable of slowing down that Phillies lineup as he gave up just 1 earned run over 7 innings.
But despite what happened in Game 3, pitching has not been the primary issue of this series, but the lack of firepower on offense. A group of hitters that set the major league record with a .501 slugging percentage during the regular season has just 3 extra-base hits in three postseason games.
t's Game 4 -- the season is on the line -- there isn't any more time for excuses. At this point, how Strider -- and potentially Max Fried -- pitch in this series doesn't matter if the offense doesn't start acting like itself and show a little life at the plate.
source:si.com