The Braves fell in excruciating fashion to the Padres in Game 1 of their Wild Card series.
It was the typical Atlanta loss. The pitching staff did enough, but the bats didn’t show up to the ballpark. A.J. Smith-Shawver got roughed up in the first and second innings to the tune of three runs; however, the combination of Aaron Bummer, Jesse Chavez, and Luke Jackson combined for 6.2 innings of one-run ball.
Somehow, the depleted pitching staff did their job. Unfortunately, the Braves offense was left sleepy following the doubleheader and subsequent flight across the country. Michael King was excellent, throwing 7.0 innings of shutout baseball and punching out 12 Atlanta hitters. It was a masterclass.
Fortunately, nobody really expected the Braves to take Game 1 from the Padres. It was always a tall task. Unfortunately, no club has ever come down from a 0-1 deficit in the current 3-game Wild Card format. Teams that take a 1-0 lead are 8-0 in those series. In fact, only one team has even forced a winner-take-all Game 3. The Mets back in 2022, who played this very same San Diego Padres team.
History is not on the Braves side, but thankfully, Atlanta has the horses to do it. Max Fried will be on the bump tonight with the season on the line, and Reynaldo Lopez will be ready for a winner-take-all Game 3 if it happens.
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David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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