Making the MLB playoffs is not supposed to be easy, but the Atlanta Braves would have preferred a less turbulent path to make the playoffs for the sixth year in a row. Although the result was the same, this season was very different from previous years. Despite a season marred by injuries to star pitcher Spencer Strider, 2023 National League (NL) MVP outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. and lineup staples like Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley and outfielder Michael Harris Jr., the Braves were able to fight for a chance to win a World Series.
Entering the season, the Braves were favorites to extend their six-year streak of winning the NL East. Though they saw regular season success, the postseason proved unkind to Atlanta last season, and they were bounced by their fierce rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies, in the NLDS. They did make two additions of note that improved their season outlook. Braves General Manager Alex Anthopoulos made the call to acquire former top prospect Jarred Kelenic from the Seattle Mariners. Once thought of as one of the sport’s best young prospects, Kelenic was looking for a fresh start in Atlanta after a disappointing tenure in Seattle.. Anthopoulos also made another acquisition that received little attention at the time by landing veteran pitcher Chris Sale from the Boston Red Sox. Sale has dealt with injuries throughout his career and looked to put together a season to secure his first Cy Young award.
The Braves started out the season strong and stayed in first place for the first 31 games. Despite the strong start, the warning signs were starting to show. Strider, who finished fourth place in voting for the 2023 NL Cy Young award, got injured in just his second start. This injury kept the ace pitcher from playing for the rest of the season. On a more positive note, designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, propelled the offense. Ozuna started the season scorching hot, accumulating nine home runs and 31 RBIs in March and April while having a 1.036 OPS.
After the strong start, the Braves started to slow, only going two games above 0.500 for the months of May, June, July and Aug. Injuries once again played a factor. Albies injured his hand on a freak play in late July. Harris II suffered a hamstring strain in June which hampered Atlanta’s fielding and hitting. However, Acuna Jr. suffered a torn ACL, which sidelined the Venezuelan super star for the remainder of the season. Despite the significant injury, the Braves were able to stay afloat thanks to the depth of their roster. Players like outfielder Ramon Laureano, infielder Whit Merrifield, infielder Gio Urshela and outfielder Jorge Soler, a former postseason hero for Atlanta who was re-acquired at the trade deadline, all played a major role in keeping the team afloat.
Going into the last month of the season, the Braves had to finish strong to hold onto the playoff spot that seemed secure for the majority of the season. The team continued their cold streak from the previous months to start the month but the experienced roster knew they had to improve.
They were able to pull together when it mattered most. The Braves won seven of their last nine games before a fateful double header against the New York Mets. After the onset of Hurricane Helene, the games of the final double-header were moved to the last day of the regular season. As a result, three teams’ playoff fates were to be determined by the two games between Mets and Braves. For the Braves and Mets, the scenarios were simple: win one game to get in. The Arizona Diamondbacks, the last team fighting for the playoffs, needed one of the teams to win both games of the double header..
Game One of the double header lived up to the billing. Pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach started the game for the Braves and threw seven scoreless innings. Mets pitcher Tylor Megill could not match Schwellenbach, throwing 5.2 innings and allowing 3 runs. However, the game got dire for Atlanta in the eighth inning. The Mets exploded for six runs to give themselves a 6-3 lead. The offensive explosion was highlighted by outfielder Brandom Nimmo, who scorched a pitch for a two-run home run off of Braves reliever Raisel Iglesias. In just one swing of his bat, Nimmo stopped the hearts of the entire crowd at the Battery. . The bottom of the eighth was highlighted by two moments. The first was when Kelenic delivered a clutch single to knock in a run and narrow the deficit to two. The second was when Albies drove a pitch to left field with the bases loaded to score three runs and give the Braves a 7-6 lead. The Mets answered once again with a two run home run by star shortstop Francisco Lindor. The home run gave the Mets a 8-7 lead. The Braves were unable to respond and were forced to win the following game of the double header in order to extend the season.
Game 2 was less climatic. The Braves took a one run lead in the second inning thanks to an Urshela RBI and never looked back. The Braves won the game 3-0 and secured a playoff series against the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card.
Despite the season being tainted by injuries, the Braves had one bright spot. Sale entered the season just looking to stay on the field. He left the season by adding a Cy Young to a highly decorated career. Sale did not just win the Cy Young, but also secured a pitching triple crown, leading the NL in wins, ERA and strikeouts. The last pitcher to win a triple crown was Clayton Kershaw in 2011. Atlanta has revitalized Sale’s career and he repaid the organization’s trust by pitching one of the best seasons in the 2020s.
After scraping into the playoffs, the Braves had the Padres waiting for them. The Padres are far from a slouch, posting an MLB-best 43-20 record in the second half of the season. The Braves did not have Sale for the series and are hoping for third baseman Austin Riley to return from injury. As a result, Atlanta needed Ozuna, Olson and catcher Travis d’Arnaud to propel the offense to the NLDS.
They fell short of that goal, falling to the Padres in the Wild Card round in a 2-0 sweep. Atlanta soundly lost Game 1, 4-0, before narrowly dropping Game 2 by a score of 5-4. In the first game, Atlanta’s lineup had no answers for Padres starter Michael King. He went seven innings and struck out 12 batters. Conversely, Braves starter A.J Smith-Shawver gave up three runs in his first inning. An already-weakened Atlanta bullpen was forced to cover the rest of the game, which they did quite well. However, the offense could not pick them up. The Braves left 11 runners on base and struggled to find any sort of spark. Game 2 again started with a suboptimal performance from Atlanta’s starter. Max Fried, a normally reliable part of Atlanta’s rotation, only went two innings as he gave up eight hits and five runs. It did not help that he was forced to leave the game early due to a hip injury. Once again, the bullpen covered things well for Atlanta. Soler and Harris Jr. both knocked home runs in for the Braves to make it a 5-4 game. In particular, Harris’s two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth gave Atlanta some life. However, the comeback fell short at the end.
Although Atlanta lost in the Wild Card, credit must be given for their resilience through a turbulent season. They will use the winter to re-tool the roster and get back into contention for the top of the NL East as they vy for a return to the World Series next October.