*Photo from WSB TV*
Atlanta wins series 3-0
Despite concerns of the pitching depth, the Atlanta Braves have really impressed. Kyle Wright threw a beauty, the whole lineup contributed, and the Braves shut out the Miami Marlins by a 7-0 score to advance to the NLCS, the first NLCS appearance for the Braves since 2001.
The Braves started the scoring in the 3rd inning, when Marcell Ozuna hit an RBI single, making it 1-0. Later that inning, Travis D'Arnaud hit a two run double, and Dansby Swanson hit a sac fly, making it 4-0 Braves at the end of the third. In the 4th, Freddie Freeman hit an RBI single to extend the Braves lead to 5-0. In the 5th, Swanson hit an RBI single, and Adam Duvall hit an RBI double to make it 7-0 Braves.
Wright got the start for the Braves, also earning the win in a big performance. Wright threw 6 dominant innings, allowing no runs on 3 hits and two walks, striking out 7 hitters. Shane Greene locked it down in the 9th inning to secure the sweep for the Braves. AJ Minter and Jacob Webb also pitched for the Braves, both pitching scoreless innings in their relief appearances.
Freeman addressed the Braves berth in the NLCS, saying that "We definitely felt like we deserved to be in this situation in 2019, but we all know baseball is a funny game, and they made us wait one more year. That’s OK with us. We just know we have a really good team right now."
Freeman also talked about the excellent pitching on display, saying that "Everyone is talking about the offense entering the series, and it’s been pretty amazing to see what the pitching staff has done, back to back shutouts, just like in the Wild Card Series. There has to be some history with this. What they have done is special, and this team is special. We’re pretty confident right now."
Sixto Sanchez started and got the loss for the Marlins, who saw their cinderella season end very abruptly. Sanchez lasted 3 innings, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks, striking out two hitters. Trevor Rogers allowed the other 3 runs for the Marlins, throwing 1 2/3 innings of relief after Sanchez left. James Hoyt, Yimi Garcia, Ryne Stanek, Brad Boxberger, and Nick Vincent also pitched for the Marlins.
Manager Don Mattingly reflected on the Marlins season, saying that "Our message to our guys was pretty simple, we talked about it when we went to Spring Training. We talked about how it’s time. It’s time to take the next step forward as an organization. We know it’s not where we wanted to go, we did give ourselves an opportunity this year. I think that’s a step forward for us. We didn’t get to where we wanted to go, but how proud I was of this club, I talked about that."
The Marlins head home for the offseason after their first playoff series loss in franchise history, while the Braves face the Dodgers in the NLCS.
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