Welcome to the postseason Braves fans. How ya feeling?
Optimistic?
Nervous?
Worried?
Confident?
It's OK to be a combination of all four (I'm all that and more right now).
On the surface, the Wildcard round went well for the Braves with the 101-win Mets and postseason nemesis Cardinals flaming out. Beginning Tuesday afternoon Atlanta gets division rival Philadelphia while championship favorite Los Angeles has to battle it out with an extremely-dangerous Padres team.
Great, right?
Well, it's certain the Brewers, Giants and Dodgers were not exactly scared of a Braves team in 2021 that didn't even win 90 games.
Remember that team? The one that caught fire after winning a weak NL East and rode a wave of momentum to a championship?
Are the Phillies capable of being that team in 2022? You know the answer, and it would be the most cruel of exits since...well, just pick a year the favored Braves fell flat in October. Prior to 2020 this was a franchise that lost 10 consecutive playoff series, many of them as favorites.
So, not to be all doom and gloom, but the Fightin' Phils are downright dangerous.
Here are the three keys for the Braves to avoid a Mets-like meltdown:
› Ronald needs to be a factor.
We've all seen what Acuna is capable of, but this Braves team needs him to be more of a leadoff hitter than a home run hitter. If he can contain himself and not swing for the fences in every at bat -- and we've seen signs of that happening the last couple of weeks -- this offense will be hard to stop.
Sure, the Braves can win with swing-and-miss Ronald, but when he gets on base, unlike any other player on either team or maybe in baseball, he creates chaos with the opposing pitcher and the defense. He's not stealing bases, and that's a good thing considering the team needs him in the lineup and not nursing his many aches, but he goes first to third or first to home better than anyone.
That's not to mention the energy he gives the team just by being on base.
› Keep Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber in the park.
Obvious, right? The Phillies and Braves are two of the most home run-dependent teams in baseball and those two at the top of the order are threats. The left-handed sluggers can get stinky hot, and when they do it usually doesn't matter who's pitching to them.
The good news is lefty ace Max Fried could get two starts and has struck out Harper 10 of the 28 times he's faced him (though with two homers allowed) and has given up only three hits in 18 at bats vs. Schwarber with seven Ks.
Kyle Wright, against the two, has allowed three hits in 17 combined at bats with one homer.
Even better, lefty set-up man A.J. Minter has owned them both, with Harper going 1-for-11 and Schwarber 0-for-6.
You don't really fear any other Phillies, though catcher J.T. Realmuto usually hits the Braves hard but hasn't been the same hitter this year.
Atlanta Braves' Spencer Strider pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Tuesday, July 26, 2022, in Philadelphia. The Braves made another investment in their future by signing rookie right-hander Spencer Strider to a $75 million, six-year contract on Monday, Oct. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)› Spencer Strider needs to have an impact.
As of this writing the outlook was good on the rookie fireballer being on the active roster, and if that's true he could, and should, be a factor. Against the Phillies he's allowed seven hits and three runs with 34 strikeouts in 21 ⅓ innings.
Coming off injury, the hope here is manager Brian Snitker will use Strider out of the pen, where he could affect multiple games in high leverage situations instead of maybe making a five-inning start.
Of course, a dominant five-inning start in a possible game four wouldn't be all that bad. A Strider matchup against, say, Kyle Gibson is one any Braves fan would like. Either way, having the 'stached assassin is a huge edge.
Sure, there are other keys, like the panic-inducing Kenley Jansen or the relative youth of the Braves' starting staff outside of Charlie Morton. However, there seem to be too many Atlanta advantages to see this one get away.
So, no, we're not nervous at all. Right?
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com; follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.