Every postseason, a playoff hero is born. It’s usually someone unsung, a player lacking in regular season prowess, but that’s exactly what makes the MLB Playoffs so magical. Last night’s hero was Adam Duvall, a career .233 hitter. The Braves will need more heroes like Duvall if they seek to survive and advance to the next round.
Things were looking grim heading into the ninth inning of last night’s Game 3 of the NLDS for the Atlanta Braves. Down 1-0, the Braves couldn’t seem to muster much offense after facing the veteran Adam Wainwright for 7.2 innings.
Josh Donaldson started things off in the ninth by getting on base. Speedster Billy Hamilton would come on for Donaldson at first setting the stage to at least manufacture one run. A few hitters later, the Cardinals chose to intentionally walk Brian McCann to face former first overall pick Dansby Swanson. Swanson has been known as a light hitter for much of his career but came through in a big way, scorching a ball off the left field wall to score Hamilton and cause some trepidation for Cardinals closer Carlos Martinez. The next hitter was Adam Duvall as the Braves rounded out the bottom of their batting order. Duvall was once an All-Star with the Cincinnati Reds but hasn’t been an overall productive career hitter. With the score tied 1-1, Duvall knew they needed at least one run, but with runners on second and third, a single would get the job done and possibly provide an insurance run. Duvall came through by going up the middle on a line drive to centerfield. The Braves’ dugout went absolutely insane and if there was ever a time for a series momentum shift, this was that moment.
Mark Melancon eventually closed it out for the Braves and they head into today with a chance to win the series in four games. Winning three in a row is not something I would’ve thought possible after the bullpen implosion of Game 1. However, the Braves have shown great resiliency and have found consistent pitching for the past two games.
The Braves found their playoff hero last night in Adam Duvall, but will probably need to find a pitching hero, too — someone who can be relied on following the starting pitchers.
Alex Anthopolous certainly built this team for the playoffs, acquiring Billy Hamilton and Shane Greene to help in big spots. Greene hasn’t been as brilliant as he was with the Detroit Tigers, but his FIP always told the real story. Melancon was also a pickup at the trade deadline and obviously is filling the closer role. Another name to keep an eye on is Julio Teheran, who was initially left of the playoff roster but added with reliever Chris Martin going down due to injury. Teheran was once a top-of-the-rotation starter for Atlanta, but with the emergence of some of the younger pitchers for the Braves along with Dallas Keuchel, Teheran has found himself moving further down the depth chart.
The Braves find themselves in a nice position and hopefully their consistency continues because the road won’t get any easier if they advance and have to face the Dodgers.
