ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves walked off the field a year ago a thoroughly beaten baseball team, their bid to repeat as World Series champions wiped out in less than a week in October.
Now they’ve got another shot at the opponent that delivered the playoff heartache.
The Braves romped to their sixth straight National League East Division title with the best record of Major League Baseball’s 2023 regular season, going 104-58 to earn home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, and their power-packed lineup tied MLB’s single-season record for team home runs with 307.
Now, after a bye in the opening round, Atlanta will join the postseason proceedings Saturday in the opening game of a best-of-five NL Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, a highly anticipated rematch. The 6 p.m. game will be televised by TBS.
“A really cool series on paper, right?” Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber said before a workout at Truist Park.
Led by NL MVP favorite Ronald Acuña Jr., the first player with 40 homers and 70 stolen bases in a season, the Braves are eager to replicate the run they made to win it all in 2021. They’d prefer to forget what happened last October.
After finishing 14 games behind Atlanta during the regular season, the Phillies stunned the Braves in the NLDS. It wasn’t that close, either. After splitting the first two games in Atlanta, the Phillies finished off the series by winning the final two on their home field at Citizens Bank Park by a combined score of 17-4.
“What happened last year is in the past,” Acuña, sporting a 40-70 T-shirt, said through an interpreter.
Philadelphia’s upset of the Braves was part of an improbable postseason run that didn’t end until the World Series, where the Phillies finally ran out of steam against the Houston Astros, who won the best-of-seven matchup in six games.
They are determined to finish the job in 2023, and the NL’s fourth-seeded Phillies certainly looked up to the task by making quick work of the No. 5 Miami Marlins in the wild-card round. Philadelphia swept the upstart Marlins by winning 4-1 on Tuesday and 7-1 on Wednesday in Philadelphia, the clincher capped by Bryson Stott’s grand slam.
“Experience is key to a lot of things,” Schwarber said. “When you’re able to draw back on experience and you’re able to lean on experience, that’s going to be huge.”
Atlanta won the season series with Philadelphia 8-5 this year, and while the Phillies were runners-up in the NL East after being third in 2022, they finished 14 games back for the second year in a row.
In an effort to maintain their edge while sitting out a first-round bye, the Braves played three intrasquad games at Truist Park. They hope keeping their daily routine as close to normal as possible during a five-day break will lead to a sharper performance against the Phillies this time around.
“Last year was the first time anybody really ever experienced that (long layoff),” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We thought we did the best we could. But now looking back, this was really good what we did.”
After his historic season, Acuña is eager to shine in the playoffs. After all, he missed out on Atlanta’s World Series title two years ago.
Acuña went down with a season-ending knee injury just before the MLB All-Star Game in July 2021, and the young right fielder didn’t make much of an impact in last year’s NLDS as he struggled all season to get back to 100%.
“He’s probably the one guy that’s coming through his skin right now to get this thing started,” Snitker said.
Acuña has plenty of help behind him in the batting order.
Matt Olson set franchise records with 54 homers and 139 RBIs, while Marcell Ozuna bounced back from an awful start to hit 40 homers with 100 RBIs, Ozzie Albies had 33 homers and 109 RBIs, and Austin Riley totaled 37 homers and 97 RBIs.
Although the Braves were prolific with their power, the Phillies have plenty of pop, too, ranking third in the NL and eighth in the majors with 220 homers during the regular season.
Olson wasn’t the only Atlanta player to set a new franchise standard. Spencer Strider, who will start on the mound Saturday, broke John Smoltz’s 27-year-old record for strikeouts, leading the majors with 281 in 186 2/3 innings. The 24-year-old right-hander was also MLB’s only 20-game winner this year, going 20-5.
Strider was dealing with a lingering oblique injury when he faced the Phillies in the NLDS last year. He was rocked for five runs in 2 1/3 innings in a 9-1 loss in Game 3.
“It’s always good to be healthy,” said Strider, whose ERA this season was 3.86.
The Phillies are going with Ranger Suárez, just as they did in Game 1 of last year’s NLDS, even though the left-hander went 4-6 with a 4.18 ERA in a season plagued by injuries.
“We all know that the moment’s not going to be too big for Ranger,” Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson said. “He’s a pretty cool cucumber out there.”
Suárez struggled with his control against the Braves in the playoffs a year ago, walking five batters in 3 1/3 innings, but the Phillies held on for a 7-6 victory. He went on to be one of Philadelphia’s most effective postseason pitchers while working as both a starter and a reliever, going 2-0 with a save and a 1.23 ERA.
Suárez got the nod to start this opener over 15-game winner Taijuan Walker. Zack Wheeler (13-6, 3.61) and Aaron Nola (12-9, 4.46) will start the next two games for the Phillies.
“I know that it hasn’t been the best season of my career,” Suárez said through an interpreter. “But I’m mentally ready for this game. I feel good. I think it’s going to be a beautiful day.”
The Braves’ hopes could rest largely on the health of left-hander Max Fried, sidelined late in the season by a recurring blister on the index finger of his pitching hand.
Fried, who went 8-1 with a 2.55 ERA this season after spending extended time on the injured list, pitched one of the intrasquad games with no apparent problems and will get the start in Game 2 on Monday at Truist Park.
“Everything went great in the intrasquad,” Snitker said. “The finger held up really well. So he’s good to go as far as we’re concerned.”
If Fried’s blister pops up again, the Braves will be extremely short on starting pitching. Veteran right-hander Charlie Morton (14-12, 3.64) is out for the NLDS with a sprained finger, and expected Game 3 starter Bryce Elder (12-4, 3.81) allowed 13 runs, 19 hits and nine walks in 12 1/3 innings in his final three starts of the regular season.
AP photo by John Bazemore / The Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. steals second base during a home game against the Washington Nationals last Saturday.2023 MLB PLAYOFFS
All times Eastern; x-if necessary
WILD-CARD SERIES
(Best-of-3)
American League
No. 3 Minnesota Twins 2, No. 6 Toronto Blue Jays 0
Tuesday, Oct. 3: Minnesota 3, Toronto 1
Wednesday, Oct. 4: Minnesota 2, Toronto 0
No. 5 Texas Rangers 2, No. 4 Tampa Bay Rays 0
Tuesday, Oct. 3: Texas 4, Tampa Bay 0
Wednesday, Oct. 4: Texas 7, Tampa Bay 1
National League
No. 6 Arizona Diamondbacks 2, No. 3 Milwaukee Brewers 0
Tuesday, Oct. 3: Arizona 6, Milwaukee 3
Wednesday, Oct. 4: Arizona 5, Milwaukee 2
No. 4 Philadelphia Phillies 2, No. 5 Miami Marlins 0
Tuesday, Oct. 3: Philadelphia 4, Miami 1
Wednesday, Oct. 4: Philadelphia 7, Miami 1
DIVISION SERIES
(Best-of-5)
American League
No. 1 Baltimore Orioles vs. No. 5 Texas
Saturday, Oct. 7: Texas at Baltimore, 1:03 p.m. (FS1)
Sunday, Oct. 8: Texas at Baltimore, 4:07 p.m. (FS1)
Tuesday, Oct. 10: Baltimore at Texas, 8:03 p.m. (Fox)
x-Wednesday, Oct. 11: Baltimore at Texas, 7:07 p.m. (FS1)
x-Friday, Oct. 13: Texas at Baltimore, 8:03 p.m. (FS1)
No. 2 Houston Astros vs. No. 3 Minnesota
Saturday, Oct. 7: Minnesota at Houston, 4:45 p.m. (FS1)
Sunday, Oct. 8: Minnesota at Houston, 8:03 p.m. (FS1)
Tuesday, Oct. 10: Houston at Minnesota, 4:07 p.m. (Fox)
x-Wednesday, Oct. 11: Houston at Minnesota, 2:07 p.m. (FS1)
x-Friday, Oct. 13: Minnesota at Houston, 4:07 p.m. (FS1
National League
No. 1 Atlanta Braves vs. No. 4 Philadelphia
Saturday, Oct. 7: Philadelphia at Atlanta, 6:07 p.m. (TBS)
Monday, Oct. 9: Philadelphia at Atlanta, 6:07 p.m. (TBS)
Wednesday, Oct. 11: Atlanta at Philadelphia, 5:07 p.m. (TBS)
x-Thursday, Oct. 12: Atlanta at Philadelphia, 6:07 p.m. (TBS)
x-Saturday, Oct. 14: Philadelphia at Atlanta, 6:07 p.m. (TBS)
No. 2 Los Angeles vs. No. 6 Arizona
Saturday, Oct. 7: Arizona at Los Angeles, 9:20 p.m. (TBS)
Monday, Oct. 9: Arizona at Los Angeles, 9:07 p.m. (TBS)
Wednesday, Oct. 11: Los Angeles at Arizona, 9:07 p.m. (TBS)
x-Thursday, Oct. 12: Los Angeles at Arizona, 9:07 p.m. (TBS)
x-Saturday, Oct. 14: Arizona at Los Angeles, 9:07 p.m. (TBS)
LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
(Best-of-7)
American League
All games on Fox or FS1
Sunday, Oct. 15: ALDS winners, TBD
Monday, Oct. 16: ALDS winners, TBD
Wednesday, Oct. 18: ALDS winners, TBD
Thursday, Oct. 19: ALDS winners, TBD
x-Friday, Oct. 20: ALDS winners, TBD
x-Sunday, Oct. 22: ALDS winners, TBD
x-Monday, Oct. 23: ALDS winners, TBD
National League
All games on TBS
Monday, Oct. 16: NLDS winners, TBD
Tuesday, Oct. 17: NLDS winners, TBD
Thursday, Oct. 19: NLDS winners, TBD
Friday, Oct. 20: NLDS winners, TBD
x-Saturday, Oct. 21: NLDS winners, TBD
x-Monday, Oct. 23: NLDS winners, TBD
x-Tuesday, Oct. 24: NLDS winners, TBD
WORLD SERIES
(Best-of-7)
All Games on Fox
Friday, Oct. 27: AL champion vs. NL champion, TBD
Saturday, Oct. 28: AL champion vs. NL champion, TBD
Monday, Oct. 30: AL champion vs. NL champion, TBD
Tuesday, Oct. 31: AL champion vs. NL champion, TBD
x-Wednesday, Nov. 1: AL champion vs. NL champion, TBD
x-Friday, Nov. 3: AL champion vs. NL champion, TBD
x-Saturday, Nov. 4: AL champion vs. NL champion, TBD