After winning 104 games in the regular season and finishing with the best record in the MLB, the Atlanta Braves had their sights set on winning another World Series ring. However, it seems like they might've been overlooking the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS a little bit. After earning the #1 seed in the National League, the Braves received a bye in the first round of the playoffs and automatically qualified for the NLDS. The Phillies had to play in the Wild Card round against the Miami Marlins and they swept that series, setting up a date with the Braves in the next round.
The Phillies made it to the World Series last season, and they're one step closer to doing it again after winning the NLDS 3-1 against the Braves. The series was tied 1-1 as if shifted over to Philadelphia after games one and two were played in Atlanta, and the Phillies took advantage of playing on their home turf with two wins to seal the series. Spencer Strider got the start on the rubber in game four for the Braves, and he blames himself for the loss.
“So if anybody’s looking for an excuse, or for someone to blame, you can blame me,” Spencer Strider said according to an article from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “And I’ve got a year to get back to this position. And hopefully, I’m going to put it in – I know, I’m going to put in the work to make sure that doesn’t happen (again).”
Strider ended up going for 5.2 innings and he gave up three runs while striking out seven and walking three. He actually had a pretty good start, and Braves manager Brian Snitker knows it wasn't Strider's fault.
“As I told Spencer, he kind of wanted to do more, and I was like, my God, all the jams he got out of and how he pitched today and gave up three solo homers,” Brian Snitker said. “He left it all out there. And he threw the heck out of the ball Game 1, too. Just so proud of that kid where he’s come this year. I mean, my God, he’s weathered storms more than us once in his first full year as a major league reliever. And to see how he went out here in this postseason, this kid – the sky is the limit for him.”
The Braves magical season is now over, and the Phillies are moving on to the NLCS to take on the Arizona Diamondbacks.