MILWAUKEE – Power against pitching. This will be the duel between the two former teams of Hank Aaron. Braves and Brewers will meet Friday for Game 1 of the National League Division Series.
“You can’t have a better starter than theirs. Also, his closer is the best there is, ”said Braves manager Brian Snitker of the Brewers. “Look, his pitching is very talented. They are a great team. They play great defense and everyone knows they can hit. They are simply a great club ”.
Respect is reciprocal.
“Major injuries and distractions off the field. They had to reform their grasslands on the fly. They got the pieces that responded immediately. They have a lot of talent, ”said Brewers president of operations David Stearns of the Braves. “They are a good team.”
The Brewers reformed their infield, with the acquisitions of Dominican shortstop Willy Adames, first baseman Rowdy Tellez and Venezuelan third baseman Eduardo Escobar. The Braves did something similar with their outfield. They lost one of their stars, Marcell Ozuna, who was arrested for domestic violence, and then Venezuelan Ronald Acuña Jr. was injured in July, leaving him out for the rest of the season.
The Braves responded by acquiring Jorge Soler from the Royals, Eddie Rosario from the Indians and Adam Duvall from the Marlins at the trade deadline.
Here’s what you need to know about Game 1 between the two teams in Milwaukee.
How have these teams gone head-to-head in the postseason?
It is the first time they have met in the playoffs in history. Both Braves and Brewers have called Milwaukee home.
Who will be the starting pitchers?
Braves: Charlie Morton will climb the mound for Game 1 and Max Fried will do it in Game 2. Ian Anderson is expected to start Game 3. If the Dominican Huáscar Ynoa opens the potential fourth game, it will probably be as an “opener”.
Brewers: On Tuesday, the Brewers announced that NL Cy Young candidate Corbin Burnes will start Game 1. Burnes became the first Brewers pitcher to win the ERA crown, leading the Majors with a percentage ERA of 2.43 in 2021. Brandon Woodruff will be in charge of the second game and Freddy Peralta of the third. Then Adrian Houser and Eric Lauer would be the options for a potential fourth game.
What will the bullpen look like?
Braves: Right-hander Jacob Webb and left-hander AJ Minter are often the bridges between starters and the seventh inning. Dominican Richard Rodríguez and Chris Martin have been the options for that inning, but left-hander Tyler Matzek is the one who has taken care of the urgent situations in the seventh and eighth inning. Luke Jackson will set up closer Will Smith.
Brewers: Losing coach Devin Williams to a broken hand was a serious blow to the Brewers, who went 71-4 in the regular season when they were up on the board after seven stretches. The middle relievers are Hunter Strickland, Jake Cousins, Brent Suter and rookie Aaron Ashby, who will have the job of getting the game ready for Brad Boxberger and closer Josh Hader.
Any weight injury?
Braves: Acuña’s ACL injury was one of several injuries the Braves had to deal with this year, but they enter the postseason relatively healthy.
Brewers: The benefit of securing the division early is that they had a full week to rest some key players. The bullpen is the area most impacted. In addition to Williams, Milwaukee lost John Curtiss and Justin Topa in the second half for the remainder of the year.
The Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee and played at County Stadium between 1953 and 1965, before arriving in Atlanta for the 1966 season.
Venezuelan Braves infielder Orlando Arcia played parts of six seasons with the Brewers before being traded to Atlanta in April. It might surprise you that he is tied with Prince Fielder for the most home runs in the postseason with the Brewers, with four.
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