The “Night Shift” told the story of the 2021 World Series-winning Atlanta Braves. It consisted of their top bullpen arms and ultimately led them to their Fall Classic victory. It was recently revealed that one of those arms will not be able to help the 2022 Braves during their MLB Playoff run. Braves manager Brian Snitker said reliever Tyler Matzek will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of the postseason, per Jesse Rogers.

The 31-year old veteran was a key piece to the puzzle a season ago. The left-handed flame-thrower recorded a 2.57 ERA in 69 regular season games last year. He followed that up with a 1.72 ERA in 13 postseason games.

Tyler Matzek battled injuries in 2022 and posted a respectable 3.50 ERA in 42 games. He was still effective but not as dominant as he was in 2021. Nevertheless, this Tommy John update is a brutal blow to the Braves' bullpen.

Atlanta is currently in the process of fending off the Philadelphia Phillies. Philadelphia narrowly snuck into the MLB Playoffs, but have already upset the St. Louis Cardinals and are looking to shock the Braves as well.

The Braves dropped Game 1 of the NLDS following a rare poor effort from ace Max Fried. Fried commented on his lackluster performance after the game.

“I’m not going to make any excuses. I took the ball today and put us in a big hole right away,” Fried said. “They came out swinging and had a really good approach, and frankly, I just didn’t do my job today.”

The Braves will attempt to bounce back in a crucial Game 2 NLDS affair against the Phillies.