The Braves took a 2-1 series lead last night thanks to a five inning no-hit performance from Ian Anderson and just enough offense to get the job done. They head into tonight’s game with a 6-0 record at Truist Park this postseason, hoping to take 3-1 lead in the series. Brian Snitker has yet to announce who will start but Dusty Baker announced he will hand the ball over to Zack Greinke.
Zack Greinke
Season:
30 Games (29 Starts); 11-6
4.16 ERA
1.170 WHIP
3.33 SO/W
Postseason:
21 Games (20 Starts); 4-6
4.29 ERA
1.211 WHIP
2.94 SO/W
Astros Pitcher Summary
Zack Greinke certainly hasn’t looked like himself as of late. This season he had an ERA+ of 103, meaning he was just a bit better than league average. That is not the Greinke that most people think of when they hear his name. Not only has Greinke had a sup-par season to compared to his usual standard, he also missed a few weeks with an injury. You have a guy that is basically asking to solely be used out of the bullpen in the postseason and so far, that’s all he’s done. He worked one inning in the ALDS giving up two hits and striking out a batter. In Game 4 of the NLCS, he opened the game and went 1.1 innings and allowed 2 earned runs off a hit and three walks. They probably have a similar plan for tonight: go out and get through the order at least once. As you’ll read farther down, the Astros will need a lot more than that if they want a chance to win this series.
Bullpens
Braves:
Season:
3.97 ERA
1.320 WHIP
.241 AVG
Postseason:
3.18 ERA
1.160 WHIP
.223 AVG
Astros:
Season:
4.06 ERA
1.300 WHIP
.230 AVG
Postseason:
2.89 ERA
1.100 WHIP
.213 AVG
Both bullpens have been fantastic this series, making it more and more difficult for either team to come back from a deficit. The Braves main four: A.J. Minter, Luke Jackson, Tyler Matzek, and Will Smith have closed the door on the Astros in each game that they’ve pitched in. Holding onto a lead was almost impossible in the regular season, but right now, it seems impossible for them not too. Besides the hiccup against the Dodgers, this bullpen is stout and the Astros are learning firsthand.
The Astros bullpen has been great, but they have worked a lot the past three games. Houston relievers have covered 15.1 innings in this series alone. You have to imagine that Dusty Baker and his team are begging Zack Greinke to go out there tonight and give them 5 or 6 innings at the least so that they don’t overexpose their bullpen anymore than they already have.
Lineups
Braves:
Eddie Rosario: .259/.305/.435; .740 OPS; 14 HR; 62 RBI; 11 SB
Freddie Freeman: .300/.393/.503; .896 OPS; 31 HR; 83 RBI; 8 SB
Ozzie Albies: .259/.310/.488; .799 OPS; 30 HR; 106 RBI; 20 SB
Austin Riley: .303/.367/.531; .898 OPS; 33 HR; 107 RBI
Jorge Soler: .223/.316/.432; .749 OPS; 27 HR; 70 RBI
Adam Duvall: .228/.281/.491; .772 OPS; 38 HR; 113 RBI; 5 SB
Travis d’Arnaud: .220/.284/.388; .671 OPS; 7 HR; 26 RBI
Dansby Swanson: .248/.311/.449: .760 OPS; 27 HR; 88 RBI; 9 SB
Bench:
Joc Pederson: .238/.310/.422; .732 OPS; 18 HR; 61 RBI; 2 SB
Guillermo Heredia: .220/.311/.354; .665 OPS; 5 HR; 26 RBI
Ehire Adrianza: .247/.327/.401; .728 OPS; 5 HR; 28 RBI
William Contreras: .215/.303/.399; .701 OPS; 8 HR; 23 RBI
Orlando Arcia: .198/.258/.309; .567 OPS; 2 HR; 14 RBI; SB
Terrance Gore: (AAA) .232/.361/.319; .680 OPS; RBI; 18 SB
Astros:
Jose Altuve: .278/.350/.489; .839 OPS; 31 HR; 83 RBI; 5 SB
Michael Brantley: .311/.362/.437; .799 OPS; 8 HR; 47 RBI; 1 SB
Alex Bregman: .270/.355/.422; .777 OPS; 12 HR; 55 RBI; 1 SB
Yordan Alvarez: .277/.346/.531; .877 OPS; 33 HR; 104 RBI; 1 SB
Carlos Correa: .279/.366/.485; .850 OPS; 26 HR; 92 RBI
Kyle Tucker: .294/.359/.557; .917 OPS; 30 HR; 92 RBI; 14 SB
Yuli Gurriel: .319/.383/.462; .846 OPS; 15 HR; 81 RBI; 1 SB
MartÃn Maldonado: .172/.272/.300; .573 OPS; 12 HR; 36 RBI
Bench:
Jason Castro: .235/.356/.443; .799 OPS; 8 HR; 21 RBI
Aledmys DÃaz: .259/.317/.405; .721 OPS; 8 HR; 45 RBI
Jake Meyers: .260/.323/.438; .761 OPS; 6 HR; 28 RBI
Jose Siri: .304/.347/.609; .956 OPS; 4 HR; 9 RBI; 3 SB
Chas McCormick: .257/.319/.447; .766 OPS; 14 HR; 50 RBI; 4 SB
Both teams will probably roll with the same lineups they used last night for maximum offensive efficiency. The Braves may choose to move Travis d’Arnaud up in the order because he seems to be on somewhat of a hot streak. The Astros have had the same lineup all postseason win or lose, so don’t expect anything different tonight.
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