ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves aren’t any stranger to the postseason, famously successful an MLB-record 14 consecutive department titles from 1991 to 2005. This 12 months is not any other after the reigning World Series champions gained a fifth-straight National League East crown, overcoming a ten 1/2-game lead via the New York Mets.
The communicate round baseball is all the time about development sustained success, however the process is more straightforward stated than completed. This Braves workforce is growing an excellent playoff legacy, even for a franchise thought to be one of MLB’s steadiest winners.
“Just remembering what our goal was when the year started, we did check off winning the East,” catcher Travis d’Arnaud stated. “But anything can happen in the playoffs and we know that. We kind of learned that last year.”
The Braves loved a much-needed and hard-earned 5 days off getting into their NL Division Series towards the Philadelphia Phillies. Considering their journeys to the NLDS in 2019, NL Championship Series in 2020 and World Series in 2021, they have got performed so much of postseason baseball.
“I think it was good for a day or two to just kind of rest and just kind of rejuvenate,” shortstop Dansby Swanson stated. “The final couple of days, I think like we have ramped up in point of fact properly as a result of we all know that we will be able to’t have a lull coming in, coming after this type of spoil. (We) in point of fact must get dialed in mentally and bodily.
“Your body is a funny thing. When your mind starts to wander off, the body starts to feel worse. So I feel like we’ve done a good job of getting everything back in sync the past couple of days and challenging ourselves as we move forward.”
All of the hot journeys to the playoffs have given Atlanta a precious edge this time of 12 months — enjoy.
Throughout their lineup, rotation and bullpen, the Braves have gamers who’ve made sizable contributions in October. It’s no marvel that the entrance administrative center has locked up such a lot of of Atlanta’s younger abilities, together with 23-year-old right-hander Spencer Strider who signed a six-year, $75 million contract on Monday.
But even with all of the video games they’ve performed and all of the sequence they’ve gained, the Braves are seeking to stay their standpoint as a result of they’ll want a transparent focal point forward of a difficult NLDS towards department rival Philadelphia, which swept its wild-card sequence towards the St. Louis Cardinals.
Atlanta went 11-8 towards the Phillies within the common season.
“I think the Phillies are hitting on all cylinders,” Braves supervisor Brian Snitker stated. “They’ve got everybody back. Their starting pitching is really good. Their circle of trust in that bullpen, they worked through some issues there. I think that’s a really good bullpen. And they’re playing really, really well now.”
Philly is making its first postseason look since 2011. By comparability, the Braves are conversant in dealing with playoff force.
“The lights can get brighter at this time of the year,” d’Arnaud stated. “But we just try to focus on what we’ve done every series throughout the year. … Focus on the moment as much as you can and just try to win. That’s all that matters at this time of the year.”
“I feel like you can’t get too high or too low,” Swanson stated. “You can’t ride waves. You’ve just got to continue to compete. I feel we’ve done a really good job of that. (I) especially feel like this year in the regular season more than in years past of just winning at all costs.”