LOS ANGELES (AP) — Through most of the 2023 regular season the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers were the top two teams in the National League. However, this is playoff baseball and it is not always the best that survive but the hottest.
Merrill Kelly and Clayton Kershaw had their backs to each other in the outfield while they were long-tossing before Game 1 of the NL Division Series.
“He kind of gave me a little acknowledgment and I gave it back,” Kelly said.
Then Arizona went out and clobbered the Los Angeles Dodgers ace in the first inning on the way to an 11-2 victory for Kelly and the Diamondbacks on Saturday night.
Gabriel Moreno’s three-run drive highlighted a six-run first for Arizona, which also got homers from Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas and Tommy Pham. Kelly used the support to beat the Dodgers for the first time.
HOMER HAPPY
The D-backs have homered in 14 consecutive postseason games dating to Game 3 of the 2007 NL Championship Series against Colorado. They’re tied with the Dodgers and Houston Astros for the second-longest streak.
UP TODAY
Right-hander Zac Gallen will start Game 2 for the D-backs TODAY against rookie right-hander Bobby Miller of the Dodgers. Gallen, a 17-game winner, gave up two runs and five hits over six innings against Milwaukee in the NL Wild Card Series. Miller won three of his final five regular-season outings.
ATLANTA (AP) — This is Bryce Harper’s favorite time of year.
Ranger Suárez and a parade of hard-throwing Philadelphia relievers are enjoying themselves, too.
Harper hit his 12th career postseason homer, Suárez and a half-dozen teammates combined on a five-hitter, and the Phillies stifled baseball’s most prolific offense for a 3-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of the NL Division Series on Saturday night.
In a playoff rematch between division rivals, the 104-win Braves find themselves in exactly the same position as a year ago: trailing the Phillies after the opener at Truist Park.
“This team, to a man, has this innate toughness to them,” Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson said. “They’re really resilient, and they just keep fighting. So it’s a great combination of talent and makeup that we have on this club.”
In 2022, the Phillies knocked off the Braves 3-1 on the way to an improbable World Series appearance. Now, they’re up again heading to Game 2 of the best-of-five series TONIGHT in Atlanta.
WRIGHT’S DONE
After leaving Kyle Wright off the playoff roster, the Braves announced the injury-plagued right-hander will undergo surgery and likely miss the entire 2024 season.
Wright, a 21-game winner in 2022, missed more than four months this season with lingering shoulder issues. He had returned late in the season, but struggled in two starts and was moved to the bullpen for the final week.
Wright was sent for an MRI on Friday, which showed a more serious issue with the shoulder. He finished this season 1-3 with a 6.97 ERA in just nine appearances.
UP Today
Left-hander Max Fried (8-1, 2.55 ERA) will get the start for the Braves in Game 2 after dealing with a recurring blister issue late in the season. “Just something you gotta monitor and just kind of pitch through,” Fried said.
The Phillies will counter with right-hander Zack Wheeler (13-6, 3.61 ERA), who got the win in Game 1 of the wild-card series against Miami by allowing just one run over 6 1/3 innings. Wheeler is a native of Smyrna — not far from the Braves’ stadium. “It’s definitely going to be fun to pitch here in front of friends and family and hopefully we get a win,” he said.
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