What Went Wrong: Braves' Pitching Squashes Repeat Plans

You know how hard it's becoming to win back-to-back World Series? There have been two sets of back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions since the last time a team repeated as World Champions in MLB. Yet after the wild finish the Atlanta Braves had, it seemed like they had a pretty good chance to repeat the success they had in 2021. It was an amazing year; the Braves bounced back from a rough start to win the National League East, and then run the table in the postseason--capturing the World Series on November 2, 2021. The team did lose Freddie Freeman, the heart and soul of the team, to the Los Angeles Dodgers during the offseason, and they would pay for it with another rough start to 2022.

In spite of this, the Braves bounced back, bit by bit, in the chase for the NL East. The Braves needed to lock up the division with a sweep of the New York Mets in their final meeting of the regular season, and they did just that--which reduced their magic number to one, and they took the East two days later. They received a bye straight to the National League Division Series, and appeared to be in a prime position to do what hadn't been done since the New York Yankees did this between 1998 and 2000: repeat as World Champions. Unfortunately, their run came to an abrupt end, as the Philadelphia Phillies, who were playing on massive momentum, took down the Braves in four games.

So what went wrong here? Simple answer: the pitching disappeared for them. Even worse, the pitching disappeared against a team running on high. Game One, sadly, was over after the first inning. Phillies scored four runs in that inning--all with two outs. The Braves tried to come back, but it still wasn't enough, and while they did win Game Two, it came after a three-hour rain delay. Even so, it was some momentum for the Braves, but once they went to Philly, they would leave with more cracks than the Liberty Bell. Overall, the Braves were outscored, 24-13 in the entire series, including 17-4 in Games Three and Four combined.

The Braves hit a grand total of five home runs in the series against the Phillies. Travis d'Arnaud and Matt Olson hit two each, while Orlando Arcia hit one of his own. Olson was signed by the Braves during the offseason, as they planned to move on from Freddie Freeman as their first baseman. In 2012, Olson was drafted by the Oakland Athletics, and made his MLB debut with the team in 2016, beginning a seven season stint with the team. Regarding some other stats, Olson and d'Arnaud each had five RBIs in the series, while Arcia, Michael Harris, and Austin Riley each had one RBI. In fact, Riley, who had been bashing the ball a lot this season, barely connected in the postseason: an .067 (1/15) batting average in the postseason.

So with that, the Phillies became the first team to punch their ticket to baseball's Final Four. The Phillies made history as the first #6 seed to win a postseason series, and they became the first #6 seed to reach the LCS. This is Philadelphia's first National League Championship Series appearance since 2010, and they will look to win their first pennant since winning back-to-back NLCSes in 2008 and 2009. With the Phils' victory, it assures that the state of California will have home field in the NLCS, as the Phillies will face either the Los Angeles Dodgers or the San Diego Padres. Amazing. Three NL East teams made the postseason, yet the team who won 87 games outlasted both 101-win squads. As for the Braves, with the repeat plans coming to an abrupt end, it's back to the drawing board.

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