The Atlanta Braves are going to the NLDS after not allowing a single run.
Take a selfie because it will last longer, Atlanta Braves fans.
For the first time since 2001, Atlanta has advanced in the postseason. The Braves dominated the Cincinnati Reds on the mound throughout their best-of-three NL Wild Card series. Max Fried was outstanding on Wednesday in Game 1. Ian Anderson was every bit as good on Thursday in Game 2. The Braves will play the winner of the Miami Marlins vs. the Chicago Cubs‘ series in the NLDS.
With the monkey off its back, Atlanta can play championship baseball now.
This was a postseason series defined by excellent starting pitcher. Though Fried and Anderson will get most of the credit for their 13-plus innings of combined brilliance over two days, Trevor Bauer and Luis Castillo were just as good opposite of them for Cincinnati. The difference in this best-of-three series was Atlanta’s incredible bullpen that outlasted the Reds over two hard-fought games.
Atlanta didn’t need to wait until extra innings to score runs on Thursday like it did on Wednesday. Ronald Acuña Jr. plated Austin Riley in the bottom of the fifth. Though Anderson’s impeccable change-up was the story in this game, the lasting image was Marcell Ozuna taking a selfie before he got to the first base bag after going whammy off Raisel Iglesias to make it 3-0, Atlanta.
Three batters later, Adam Duvall hit his own two-run shot to give the Braves a commanding 5-0 lead heading into the top of the ninth. With back-to-back shutouts on the line, there was no way closer Mark Melancon was going to led the Reds get a run across. Over the course of 22 innings, the Braves’ pitching staff did not allow a single Cincinnati run to score. That is how you advance.
As a lifelong Braves fan, this is a massive deal. The last time Atlanta advanced in the postseason I was in sixth grade and hadn’t hit puberty yet. I was blessed to grow up in the Team of the ’90s era of Atlanta baseball. Winning 14 straight division titles will never happen again in baseball. After 10 straight postseason heartbreaks, it’s amazing to be on the winning side of things for once.
Atlanta will have to wait a few days to figure out how it will play in Houston between the Marlins and the Cubs. Though the NLDS is not the end goal, the Braves are playing with tremendous confidence and could reach their first NLCS since 2001, possibly win the NL pennant for the first time since 1999. Fate would have it 1999 was the last time they had an NL MVP on their roster.
Freddie Freeman was the hero late afternoon yesterday, while guys like Anderson, Acuña, Ozuna and Duvall were the heroes this afternoon. Though nobody could watch this team inside of beautiful Truist Park, you could hear so much of Braves Country going crazy in The Battery just outside the gates. It’s been a long time coming, and thankfully, the wait is over for the Braves.
With the pressure gone and a few days off, look for Atlanta to play great baseball in the NLDS.