Dominant Braves season highlighted by historic performance from Ronald Acuña Jr
Ronald Acuña Jr. has put up stats like we’ve never seen from a baseball player in 2023, but is that enough to offset some of the Braves’ other issues in making the playoffs?
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Wednesday is a big day for the 2023 Major League Baseball playoffs, with a make-or-break Game 3 between the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves; and the opportunity for the Houston Astros (vs. Twins) and Arizona Diamondbacks (vs. Dodgers) to punch their tickets to the LCS.
The Phillies and Braves (5:07 p.m. ET) begin Wednesday’s series tied 1-1 after Atlanta pulled off a stunning comeback win in Game 2 on Monday. In the second game of the day, the Astros (2-1) can secure their seventh straight trip to the ALCS with another win over the Twins (7:07 p.m. ET). In the nightcap, the surprising Diamondbacks (2-0) look to complete a win over the heavily favored Dodgers (9:07 p.m. ET).
Stay here throughout the evening for updates on the MLB playoffs tripleheader:
Philadelphia’s $300 million shortstop Trea Turner got in on the action at Citizens Bank Park, hitting a two-out solo home run off AJ Smith-Shawver in the bottom of the sixth to extend the lead to 8-2.
The 30-year-old Turner had a rough start to his first year in Philadelphia, but came roaring back in the second half, batting .292 with 16 home runs and a .902 OPS after halftime.
After hitting a go-ahead home run in the third inning, Bryce Harper led off the fifth inning with a solo shot off Braves left-hander Brad Hand, extending the Phillies’ lead to 7-1.
This is Harper’s first career multi-homer game in the postseason and the seventh in Phillies history, most recently by Rhys Hoskins in Game 4 of the 2022 NLCS against the Padres.
Twins rookie Royce Lewis hit a solo home run in the first inning off Astros starter Jose Urquidy to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead early in Game 4 of the ALDS at Target Field. It was Lewis’ fourth home run in six games this postseason, hitting two in the Twins’ wild-card series-opening win over the Blue Jays and another in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Astros.
The Astros responded immediately with Michael Brantley returning to the lineup after Game 3 of the ALDS and hitting a solo home run off Minnesota Twins starter Joe Ryan early in the second inning.
PHILADELPHIA – Two powerful swings were enough to give the Phillies momentum back in this National League Division Series.
Bryce Elder, Atlanta’s Game 3 starter, relying on command and a sinker that tops out at 89 miles per hour, allowed a game-winning solo home run to Nick Castellanos and then a three-run home run to Bryce Harper, resulting in The Phillies took a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the third inning at Citizens Bank Park.
But his mess still hadn’t been sorted out. Catcher JT Realmuto followed with a double into the gap in left center field against reliever Michael Tonkin, making the score 6-1. Realmuto’s hit was the kind of shot the Phillies missed in Game 2 on Monday, when they struck early but never built a 4-1 lead and ultimately lost 5-4.
Elder, who had a 2.97 ERA in the first half and a 5.11 ERA in the second half, allowed a sky-high home run to Castellanos down the left field line and a solid single to Brandon Marsh. And the problem with Elder is that he doesn’t miss too many at-bats.
So when Trea Turner dribbled a grounder between third and short that was dropped in the infield, the inning extended for Harper. He responded with a 408-foot home run to right.
After allowing a single and a walk, Elder was done after 2 ⅔ innings.
– Gabe Lacques
PHILADELPHIA – For the first time in the series, Atlanta took the lead first.
A one-out double by MVP candidate Ronald Acuña Jr. was preceded by an RBI single by Ozzie Albies and Atlanta took a 1-0 lead in the third period. The Braves didn’t take the lead in the series until Austin Riley hit a two-run run in Game 2 and a home run in the eighth inning that kept them out of a 2-0 series deficit and tied this NLDS in Game 3 on Wednesday .
– Gabe Lacques
PHILADELPHIA – So far it’s looking more like a breakout game for the Atlanta Braves.
The score was 0-0 after two innings.
Starter Bryce Elder, assigned to rookie AJ Smith-Shawver for Game 3, pitched two perfect innings to start Game 3 of the NLDS at Citizens Bank Park. Elder posted four strikeouts and left just one ball out of the outfield, needing just 29 pitches to complete two innings.
Phillies starter Aaron Nola allowed two hits in the first inning but also struck out four, including Orlando Arcia, much to the delight of the partisan crowd. Arcia raised eyebrows after Game 2 in Atlanta when he cheered on Bryce Harper postgame, and is suddenly the highly unlikely Public Enemy No. 1 in Philly.
– Gabe Lacques
PHILADELPHA — As postgame controversies go, it’s not exactly flammable material to throw at the embers of this not-quite Braves-Phillies rivalry.
But Orlando Arcia’s knee-jerk reaction to Bryce Harper’s baserunning misfortune may just add a little spice to this National League Division Series.
After Game 2 ended Monday with an unprecedented 8-5-2 double play made possible by Harper’s aggressive (or, depending on your perspective, foolhardy) baserunning, a Fox Sports reporter overheard Arcia’s remark while watching a replay in the clubhouse from Atlanta.
“Haha, Attaboy, Harper!” Arcia said, and while it doesn’t look particularly nice to gloat over an opponent’s misfortune, it wasn’t directly said on live television.
Still, the Phillies noticed. No word on whether they would blow up the words in plain letters to distribute around the clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park.
“Yeah, you don’t need anything to motivate him,” Thomson said of Harper before Wednesday’s third game. But I know what you’re talking about.
“If that increases his motivation, then thank you.”
Harper hit a home run in Game 1 and has a 1.757 OPS and seven playoff home runs in Game 3 as a Phillie. He is known for being a little intense.
So maybe the goal is to not upset the two-time MVP too much.
“We don’t really overpay,” said outfielder Brandon Marsh. “We know it’s just a good joke. It’s just two teams from the NL East playing against each other.”
– Gabe Lacques
There may be no better home-field advantage in the playoffs than Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park.
Expect the raucous crowd of 45,000 to be loud and electric for Game 3 of the NL Division Series between the Phillies and Atlanta Braves, which ends in a 1-1 tie.
The Phillies posted a 49-32 record at CBP this season with a run differential of +83 – their best home mark since they were +114 at home in 2011.
The Phillies are 24-11 all-time in the postseason at CBP and their winning percentage of .686 is the best in MLB history for a club that has played more than 30 postseason games at its home venue, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“I think we have the best home field advantage in the league,” said the Phillies’ Aaron Nola, who starts Game 3. “I think our crowd is the wildest and we love playing in front of it. “I feel like it’s sometimes difficult for opposing teams to play in this stadium, but we like it a lot. We feed on it.”
Even Braves reliever AJ Minter acknowledged the crowd effect on Tuesday: “I told everyone last offseason that Philly was the loudest stadium I’ve ever been in, especially last year in the postseason. We know Philly fans – we know them pretty well – and they are passionate about their team and so are we. But it’s definitely going to be messy.”
– Scott Boeck
Braves manager Brian Snitker said he made the decision to use Bryce Elder because he liked the right-hander’s performance in intrasquad games the Braves played to stay fit during their week off.
“I think after the way he attacked the intrasquad and after the firing, we just felt like he was the right guy,” Snitker said. “He was our starter all year. That was one of the main reasons we won the division. We liked what we saw.”
Aaron Nola’s career vs. Braves
Game 3 starter Aaron Nola made three starts against the Braves in the 2023 regular season, posting a 3.50 ERA with 20 strikeouts and four walks in 18 innings.
Nola beat Atlanta in Game 3 of the NLDS last season, giving up one earned run in six innings.
Here are some of the Braves’ best regular-season hitters’ numbers against Nola over the years:
- Austin Riley: .389 average (21 for 54), 5 HR, 9 RBI, 5 doubles, 1.180 OPS
- Ronald Acuna Jr.: .327 average (16 for 49), 4 HR, 9 RBI, 5 doubles, 1.084 OPS
- Ozzie Albies: .254 average (15 for 59), 4 XBH, .641 OPS
- Travis d’Arnaud .167 average (6 for 36), 2 HR, .606 OPS
- Michael Harris II: .200 average (4 for 20), 2 HR, 5 RBI, .740 OPS
Once again, it seemed like the Braves’ regular-season dominance was no match for the Phillies’ playoff brilliance.
But down to the final four outs before they fell into a hole that would have wiped out their record year, Braves slugger Austin Riley saved their season and Michael Harris Jr. sent them to Philadelphia with a game-saving play.
Riley hit a go-ahead two-run home run against Phillies reliever Jeff Hoffman with two outs in the eighth inning, giving Atlanta a 5-4 win in Game 2 of the National League Division Series, a best-of-five game Their prospects were bleak just moments before.
The game ended almost as dramatically, with a stunning double play after Nick Castellanos drove a ball to the right-centerfield fence, but Atlanta midfielder Harris was able to recover the ball with a diving jump against the fence.
He spun around and shot toward the infield as Bryce Harper — understandably assuming he could score on the apparent extra-base hit — tried to return to first base. But that man, Riley, intervened, cut off Harris’ throw and fired at first baseman Matt Olson to end the game.
– Gabe Lacques
The Minnesota Twins have added outfielder Byron Buxton to their playoff roster, MLB announced Wednesday afternoon. He replaces first baseman/outfielder Alex Kirilloff, who suffered an unspecified injury in Game 3. Kirilloff will not be able to return to the roster before the World Series if the team advances in the American League Division Series against the Houston Astros.
Buxton has not played since August 1 after being placed on the injured list with a right hamstring injury.
– Scott Boeck