*Photo from Bleacher Report*
Atlanta leads series 2-1
I predicted that the Milwaukee Brewers would beat the Atlanta Braves in 5 games this series. That is their only shot at this time. Joc Pederson homered, Ian Anderson excelled on the mound, and the Braves shut out the Milwaukee Brewers 3-0 on Monday afternoon.
The name of the game this series has been the pitching, as both teams have great pitching staffs. The Braves have had great pitching, but have also found more offense then the Brewers at this point, which gives them the chance to clinch a spot in the NLCS as early as Tuesday.
Pederson said of his home run that "That's what it's like to have a lineup where anyone can clip you. It puts a little bit more pressure on the pitchers, that if they make one mistake, one through nine can leave the yard at anytime. So it's fun to be a part of."
The game's only offense came in the bottom of the 5th inning, when Pederson, coming up as a pinc hitter, took a pitch from Adrian Houser and deposited it in front of the Chop House in right field, giving the Braves a 3-0 lead, which ended up the final score 3 1/2 innings later.
Anderson continued a strong playoff performance in his few playoff starts so far, throwing 5 shutout innings while allowing 3 hits, walking no one and fanning 6 hitters. Jesse Chavez then came on and delivered a scoreless 6th inning, followed by scoreless innings from Tyler Matzek and Luke Jackson, and a save from Will Smith, his second of the series.
Braves manager Brian Snitker said of his pitching's performance that "They've been awesome. The starting pitching, we've had three really strong starts. And the bullpen has just been so good, and they have been for a long time."
Houser got the loss for the Brewers, allowing the pinch hit home run to Pederson in his one inning, falling to 1-1 this postseason. Freddy Peralta pitched 4 innings in his start, his first playoff start of his career, throwing 4 shutout innings while allowing 3 hits and walking one hitter. Hunter Strickland, Jake Cousins, and Brad Boxberger also pitched.
Brewers center fielder Lorenzo Cain said of the lack of hitting that "Sometimes, you just have to get the job done. We definitely have to go out there and score runs. No way around it and nothing else to say. I haven't been on base enough, so I have to get on base and let somebody else drive me in."
Game 4 of the series will take place on Tuesday, with Charlie Morton starting for the Braves, and Eric Lauer toeing the rubber for the Brewers.
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