The defending World Series champions, the Atlanta Braves, faced a tough loss in the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The defending World Series champions, the Atlanta Braves, suffered a tough loss in the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies. Braves manager Brian Snitker spoke out about the loss, and he made a pretty humble statement, acknowledging the talent the Phillies brought to the playoffs.
In a press conference, Snitker stated, “We ran into a really hot team, pretty much. They’re hitting on all cylinders. They’re playing great baseball. … I think all the credit goes to the Phillies.”
The Braves and the Phillies both put up great efforts, but the Phillies were on another level. Fans at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia cheered long and hard for their team, so the energy of the stadium probably helped matters too.
Philadelphia entered the postseason hot, and suddenly the Braves are in the same boat as the St. Louis Cardinals, the team Philadelphia defeated in the Wild Card series.
Phillies defeat Braves, Brian Snitker
Batting-wise, the Phillies rank roughly average in the postseason, despite having some incredible results and multiple home runs in the playoffs. Among all of the teams that have advanced from the Wild Card series (including the Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres and Cleveland Guardians), the Phillies have the third-best batting average (.209), on-base percentage (.294), slugging percentage (.340) and OPS (.634).
However, those numbers aren’t telling of their overall ability. In the regular season, among all teams, they had the eighth-best batting average (.253), 11th-best OBP (.317), sixth-best slugging percentage (.422) and eighth-best OPS (.739).
As for their rotation, they have the second-best ERA (2.45), opponent batting average (.191) and WHIP (1.07) among all Wild Card teams that advanced. They’re stacked with talent, and they look unstoppable coming into the NLCS.
Beating the Braves was a huge test of their talent, and they’ve proven themselves as contenders.