What to watch for in the Braves' final series
Mark Bowman
@mlbbowmanATLANTA -- Now that the regular season’s final weekend has arrived, it’s time to look at exactly what the Braves could still accomplish before making their third consecutive postseason appearance.
With a 4-2 loss to the Marlins on Thursday night at Truist Park, the Braves’ magic number for clinching the National League’s No. 2 postseason seed remained at one. If they secure this spot, they would play the No. 7 seed, which means they likely won’t know their opponent until the still crowded NL playoff race ends on Sunday or Monday (if the Cardinals need to make up at least one game).
One thing the Braves know is they will play the entirety of next week’s Wild Card Series in Atlanta. That has proven to be a good thing, as the team has spent the past couple months constructing an 18-9 home record, which ties them with the Dodgers for the NL’s best mark.
Here are a few other things to keep an eye on:
Get the kids ready
Thursday began in encouraging fashion when Braves manager Brian Snitker announced Max Fried’s sore left ankle will not prevent him from starting Game 1 of the Wild Card Series. The day got even better as Ian Anderson held the Marlins scoreless through the first five innings, but he encountered some bad luck while allowing three unearned runs in the sixth.
Now, the Braves will hope Kyle Wright also impresses as he makes his final regular-season start against the Red Sox on Friday. Wright has started to show his promise by providing at least six strong innings in each of his past two starts. Anderson has pitched into the sixth inning in four of his first six career starts.
Anderson’s bid to get through the sixth of Thursday’s start was blemished after a broken bat distracted third baseman Adeiny Hechavarría while he tried to catch Brian Anderson’s soft liner to begin the inning. Garrett Cooper followed with a single that had just a 66.8 mph exit velocity.
After striking out the next two batters, Anderson ended his night by allowing a Chad Wallach single and a Jon Berti double to make the score 3-0. This wasn’t the ending the 22-year-old wanted, but having produced a 1.95 ERA this season, he has created confidence about what he might do when he likely makes his postseason debut in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series.
MVP race
Freddie Freeman was hurt by a late-season slump in 2018, and his elbow frustrated him over the final month of a great ‘19 season. But the Braves’ first baseman is heading into the final weekend surging. He entered Thursday leading the NL with a 1.246 OPS in September.
Freeman also entered the day leading the NL with a 3.1 fWAR (Fangraphs’ WAR Model) and ranking second with 185 Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+). After going 0-for-3 in this series finale against the Marlins, he owned a 1.084 OPS, which ranks second in the Majors.
The Braves haven’t had an NL MVP Award winner since Chipper Jones captured the trophy in 1999.
Speaking of the Joneses
The Braves also haven’t had a home run champion since Andruw Jones hit a franchise-record 51 in 2005. Marcell Ozuna would like to change that. His NL-leading 17 homers equate to a 48-homer pace over a 162-game season.
Eddie Mathews (1959) and Wally Berger (1930) share the franchise record for the most home runs (22) hit through the team’s first 60 games. Ozuna might not reach that mark. But with a good weekend, he could join Andres Galarraga (21 in 1998), Hank Aaron (20 in 1966) and Ryan Klesko (20 in 1996) as the only players of the Atlanta Era to hit at least 20 homers within the same span.
Team HR marks
With 99 home runs through their first 57 games, the Braves need to hit just one more to match their total in 2015’s 162-game season; this year’s pace would equate to 281 home runs over that same stretch. Last year’s club hit a franchise record 249 homers.
The 2019 team also set a monthly franchise record by hitting 56 home runs in June. The Braves need just five more homers over the final three games to match this record.