Philadelphia – On Thursday Night, Michael Harris II and the Atlanta Braves season came to a disappointing end as they fell 3-1 to the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Philadelphia’s series clenching victory on Thursday pushed their playoff home record to 26-11, the best in MLB playoff history according to the TBS broadcast.
Throughout the season we have raved at how historic the Atlanta offense was, but during this year’s NLDS it was Philadelphia who did the history making. In Game 1 the Phillies set a team record for most steals in a playoff game with five. In Game 3, the Phillies 6 homers were the most hit by any team in postseason history.
Right Fielder Nick Castellanos, who hit two homers of his own in their 10-2 Game 3 victory, added two more home runs in Game 4 to become the first player in MLB postseason history to hit two home runs in consecutive games.
As for the Braves, their pitching may have struggled but in the end the offense that tied the record for most home runs in MLB regular season history simply failed to do its part. Ronald Acuna Jr, Ozzie Albies, Marcell Ozuna and Matt Olsen combined for 0 home runs and just 1 extra base hit the entire series.
MLBbro Michael Harris II saw his postseason come to an end when he was pinch hit for by Travis d’Arnaud. Harris managed to get on base in Game 4 thanks to Trae Turner’s 2 base error but finished the 2023 postseason hitless and still has only one hit in his two postseason appearances.
HIs fellow MLBbro Vaughn Grissom was the only other MLBbro on the Braves NLDS roster, but unfortunately, he didn’t get an opportunity to contribute. Grissom struck out after being called to pinch hit with two out in the bottom of the 9th.
The Braves became the second national league team this postseason to be eliminated after winning 100 games, joining Dave Roberts and the LA Dodgers who were eliminated by Tommy Pham and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Atlanta won their 6th consecutive division crown this season, but for the second straight postseason Philadelphia is the final NL East team standing.
Atlanta — It took them 14 innings, but the real Michael Harris II and the Atlanta Braves have finally arrived to their matchup with the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Division Series.
Despite finishing the season with the best record in the National League and one of the most prolific offenses in MLB history, the Braves bats were silent against Philadelphia in Game 1.
The best offense in baseball suddenly couldn’t buy a run, recording their first shutout loss at home since the middle of summer.
Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler was dominant to begin Game 2 Monday night, holding the Braves hitless through five innings before second baseman Ozzie Albies recorded a single in the 6th inning that sparked the Braves offense.
Atlanta Finally Gets Bats Going
Atlanta wasn’t finished after finally breaking through in the 6th, scoring again in the 7th and eventually taking the lead on a two-run homer by Ron Washington disciple Austin Riley.
As for Harris, he hasn’t been able to translate his regular season success to postseason glory just yet at the plate but still found a way to help his team secure the victory.
With one out in the ninth, Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos sent a deep drive into right centerfield between Harris and Ronald Acuna Jr that sent Money Mike flying through the Atlanta sky and into the wall, to take away an extra base hit that would have potentially tied the game in the 9th.
The MLBbro and 2022 NL Rookie of the Year, fired the ball back into the infield, and third baseman Austin Riley made the perfect fundamental play, backing up the cutoff man Albies to double off Bryce Harper to end the game.
Harris is 0-7 at the plate so far this series, but that catch and throw will be talked about for years to come.
The play was a true example of how multifaceted he is and the game-changing talent he can bring to the game even when his bat is a bit cold.
As we do every year at this time, the staff at MLBbro.com has made its annual postseason predictions.
Our Panel: Rob Parker, JR Gamble, Mark Gray, David Grubb, Malik Wright, Dante Miles, Ronald Agers, Gary Sheffield Jr., Rachel Hill, Jaelen Gilkey, Kevin Moore
After the sudden completion of the Wild Card round, here’s how our crew’s predictions have panned out so far.
Staffers
Record
Gary Sheffield Jr.
4-0
Rob Parker, David Grubb
3-1
JR Gamble, Rachel Hill, Kevin Moore, Malik Wright
2-2
Ronald Agers, Dante Miles
1-3
Mark Gray, Jaelen Gilkey
0-4
The divisional round of the postseason begins on Saturday, with two upsets in the wild card round reshaping the brackets. Only three of our panelists (Gamble, Sheffield, Miles) correctly picked the Diamondbacks to advance to the second round. In the other series, six staffers selected the Rangers to knock off the Rays.
With berths in the League Championship Series on the line, the stakes are higher, and the series are longer. So here are our picks for who wins and in how many games.
American League Divisional Series
Minnesota Twins (3) vs Houston Astros (2)
Season series: Twins 4-2
The Minnesota Twins are on a roll. Since September 1 they are 21-10 (.677), including their two-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Their pitching staff surrendered just one run in the two games, with 19 strikeouts and only five walks. Royce Lewis (.333, 2 HR, 3R, 3RBI) had a record-tying performance in game one with home runs in each of his first two postseason at-bats.
Now, he and the rest of the Twins get to take on the champs. The Twins did win the season series, but the Astros have advanced to at least the ALCS in each of the past six years. We’re riding with the Astros, but we don’t think it will be an easy win.
Panel’s pick: Astros in 5
Texas Rangers (5) vs Baltimore Orioles (1)
Season series: 3-3
Well, the Baltimore Orioles won 101 games during the regular season. They’ve only done that three times in the last 50 years (1979, 1980). Baltimore scored 800 runs for the first time in 20 years. They also had a top five pitching staff.
The Rangers have bludgeoned their way into the playoffs and into the second round. Texas tied the Twins for the American League lead in home runs (233), and led the AL in batting average, runs scored, OBP, Slugging, and OPS. Texas shot down the Blue Jays by scoring 11 runs in two games. The big surprise was their pitching, which held Toronto to a single run in the series.
It was close, but in the end we believe that the Orioles will get past the Rangers and into the ALCS for the first time since 2014.
Panel’s pick: Orioles in 4
National League Divisional Series
Arizona Diamondbacks (6) vs Los Angeles Dodgers (2)
Season series: Dodgers 8-5
Arizona stumbled into the playoffs losing its final four games of the regular season. They were outscored by their opponents, but here they are taking on the juggernaut that is the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Diamondbacks got contributions from just about everyone in their lineup in beating the Brewers.
This series is between divisional opponents, and LA dominated the series. They have the better offense, the better defense, a deeper pitching staff, the more experienced manager, and the mission of “World Series or Bust.”
We’ll give the D-Backs enough credit to earn a gentleman’s sweep.
Panel’s pick: Dodgers in 4
Philadelphia Phillies (4) vs Atlanta Braves (1)
Season series: Braves 8-5
This series might be the best of the entire postseason. These NL East rivals are the last two representatives for the National League in the World Series. They played each other seven times in the month of September, with the Braves edging out the Phillies four games to three.
They were only three runs apart in those games, with three of them going to extra innings.
The only shame is this series is best-of-five instead of best-of-seven.
Ronald Acuna missed the playoffs last year, and this season he’s the likely MVP. He’s the headliner on an offense that launched 307 home runs into the stands and scored 947 runs. That would be enough to deal with for most teams, but the Braves are above average on the mound and in the field as well.
Philly comes in winners of 10 of their last 13 games and aren’t afraid of Atlanta. The Phillies should push the Braves to their limit, but ultimately Atlanta will emerge victorious.
The San Diego Padres defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 in Game 4 of the NLDS to advance to the NLCS. Down three going into the bottom of the seventh, the Padres used a five run inning to help secure the win.
San Diego has been one of the most impressive teams throughout the postseason and the team has also had one of the most impressive players as well. Trent Grisham has had a postseason to remember. Our MLBbro has had one of the hottest bats of anyone in the playoffs.
In Game 4 against the Dodgers, Grisham went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a walk. He has appeared in all seven games this postseason for the Padres and out of those games he’s only gone hitless one time.
Let’s take a look at his numbers. He’s hitting .381 with three home runs and five RBI and has a .519 on-base percentage. Grisham is leading the team in home runs and on-base percentage. And check this out: he’s also tied for first in batting average, RBI, and hits.
This brother has impressed a lot of people during the postseason and we get to see more of him as the Padres take on the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS. Grisham has provided that spark that the Padres have needed at the bottom of the lineup and he’s been cool, calm, and collected all postseason long.
The Padres are one step closer to making the World Series for the first time since 1998 and Grisham is going to continue to do all that he can to help his team get there.
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