Wright 'itching' to get out there for Game 3
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When Kyle Wright starts Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the Marlins at Minute Maid Park on Thursday afternoon, he’ll be attempting to help the Braves clinch this best-of-five series.
It will be the most significant start in the young career of the 25-year-old hurler, who has recently shown why the Braves were so happy to take him with the fourth overall selection in the 2017 MLB Draft.
| Game | Date | Result | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gm 1 | Oct. 6 | ATL 9, MIA 5 | Watch |
| Gm 2 | Oct. 7 | ATL 2, MIA 0 | Watch |
| Gm 3 | Oct. 8 | ATL 7, MIA 0 | Watch |
Shop for postseason gear: “I think it’s just exciting because I get to get back out there,” Wright said. “It is a postseason game, so it’s a big game. But at the end of the day, it is just another game. I’ll prepare like I have been. But for me, it’s been a while. So I’m itching to get back out there and go play.”
This will be the first postseason start for Wright, who made eight of his 12 career big league starts this year. Maybe more important is the fact that this will be his first outing since Sept. 25.
Wright would have started Game 3 of the Wild Card Series had the Braves not swept the Reds in that best-of-three series. Instead he spent last Friday afternoon facing teammates in a simulated game. The objective was to stay sharp in hopes of extending the success he had over his final three regular-season starts.
“We kept it as real as possible,” manager Brian Snitker said. “He should be really good to go tomorrow.”
Wright limited opponents to a .164 batting average and a .263 on-base percentage while producing a 2.37 ERA in those last three regular-season starts, each of which lasted at least six innings. Before that stretch, he had completed more than four innings in just one of five starts. Opponents hit .312 and produced a .442 OBP against him during this span, which was marred by a 18.9 percent walk rate.
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Now Wright will attempt to continue his improvement against the Marlins, who drew eight walks and scored eight runs off him over seven innings this year.
“They are a really tough lineup,” Wright said. “They battle a lot and they don’t really chase a whole lot. For me, I’ve got to be in the zone and make them put the ball in play and let our defense work.”
The Death Star and Screech
Darren O'Day, considered the leader of the Braves' bullpen, is also the leader in creating nicknames, and he revealed two great ones for Tyler Matzek and Ian Anderson.
“I’ve nicknamed [Matzek] the Death Star,” said the 37-year-old O’Day. “I’m a Star Wars fan. I grew up in that era. The Empire built this secret weapon that just came in and could just destroy anything.”
Matzek, 29, went 4-3 with a 2.79 ERA in 21 regular-season appearances. He had a 35.5 percent strikeout rate, which ranked 17th out of 173 qualified relievers, according to FanGraphs. The Rockies’ first-round pick in 2009, Matzek made his big league debut in 2014 but suffered from the yips beginning in 2015. He almost didn't make it back to the big leagues, but he impressed the Braves in Spring Training and again in Summer Camp.
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“Matzek is extremely talented,” O’Day said. “He’s been through a lot to get where he is. It’s really an inspiring story of perseverance and just hearing some of the lows he’s been through and now kind of reaping the rewards of just battling through that.”
O’Day's nickname for Anderson? “Screech.”
“The only problem is, Ian had to Google who Screech was,” O’Day said. “He had never seen ‘Saved by the Bell,’ which most of the guys in the bullpen had grown up with. I think if he shaved the beard, if you look up some of his younger pictures, I think Screech is pretty spot on.”
“Saved by the Bell” ran from 1989-92. Anderson was born in 1998. “Saved by the Bell: The College Years” ran from 1993-94, so Anderson missed that, too.
Another Snitker at MMP
As the Braves play at Houston’s Minute Maid Park this week, Snitker is using his son Troy’s office.
Well, kind of. He’s actually using Astros manager Dusty Baker’s office, but Baker just happens to be the boss of Troy, who is spending his second year as Houston’s hitting coach.
It would be a great story to see the Snitkers compete against each other in the World Series, but for now, they are just pulling for each other from afar. The Astros have won the first two games of their American League Division Series against the A’s at Dodger Stadium.
“We texted as soon as I got here yesterday,” Snitker said. “It's neat, it's fun and like I say, I can't say how proud I am of him for what he's accomplished and what he's doing. It's a unique situation.”