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Freeman led the club in postseason homers (five) in 2021, shared the RBI lead (11) with Rosario, finished a close second in OPS (1.045) to Rosario (1.073) and hit the ninth-inning, winning home run off Brewers reliever Josh Hader to clinch the NLDS. This isn’t relitigating the winter decision to trade for Olson after the Freeman negotiations stalled. We just don’t know to what degree he’ll be effective. This time they’ll at least have him on the field. The Braves won a World Series without Acuña last season. 236/.283/.415, it was clear something still wasn’t right. 316/.404/.474, he appeared to be approaching peak form. Other than possibly Strider, Acuña is this team’s biggest X-factor because he has the talent to dominate a game at the plate and on the bases. This team has hit a bunch of home runs but hasn’t been overly reliant on that, which is key in a playoff run. That prompted manager Brian Snitker to drop him out of the third spot to fifth in the order. The loss in production from Freddie Freeman’s exit has been mitigated by Austin Riley’s career-high 38 homers, Swanson’s season, Michael Harris II’s unexpected standout year and Matt Olson’s 101 RBIs, even with the recent slump that saw him hit. The bullpen also allowed only one run in 12 1/3 innings in the Mets’ series. 191 batting average in 27 appearances (25 1/3 innings) in Atlanta. Iglesias struggled with the Angels, but he has allowed only one earned run with a.
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The late-season acquisition of Raisel Iglesias filled the need for a right-hander after the spring training loss of Jackson. But if memory serves, Will Smith made folks nervous going into the playoffs last year, and he had six saves with none blown and allowed zero runs in 11 appearances. Schultz: Starting rotation give Braves their best chance in playoffs BullpenĬloser Kenley Jansen has blown some saves and the other night loaded the bases with a three-run lead against the Mets before finding the escape hatch with two strikeouts.
#Who played in the world series last year free#
Dansby Swanson, who has put up career-best numbers to go with stellar defense, also has affirmed his leadership skills, elevating his value in his walk year of free agency. But the team never jumped the rails and never even lost more than two in a row during that slow start or even the first four months of the season. Not everything has gone according to plan this season, notably Ronald Acuña Jr.’s slow comeback from knee surgery, injuries (including Ozzie Albies, Luke Jackson, Adam Duvall, Mike Soroka again) and the second arrest and general anemic play of Marcell Ozuna. But during these past several weeks, the Braves have reaffirmed their ability to overcome injuries and adverse circumstances, get hits in pressure at-bats and win big games when others ( Mets) look lost. Both were legitimate questions for the first two months of the season when the team was below. Rosters change year to year, and sometimes that impacts chemistry and leadership. missed the Braves’ run to the World Series last year after suffering a knee injury. So rather than look at 100-plus wins, let’s consider the aspects of this team that might make a difference in the postseason and the questions that need to be answered. In that run of 14 division titles, they had the best record in baseball seven times and 100-plus wins six times, but during those seven extraordinary years, they lost twice in the World Series, three times in the NLCS and twice in the divisional round (once to the 88-win Cubs). The Braves were the best regular-season team in the NL when they won the World Series in 1995, but their 90 wins were 10 fewer than the Indians, whom they beat in six games in the World Series. The Braves were not the best team on paper last season, but they benefitted from the implausibly great late season and playoff performances by inexpensive deadline acquisitions - four outfielders ( Adam Duvall, Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, Eddie Rosario), whom general manager Alex Anthopoulos openly acknowledges he traded nickels for with the modest hope of just making the playoffs. We’ve learned in sports that paper doesn’t win championships. But ultimately, it really doesn’t matter. There are legitimate arguments on both sides.
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