The Atlanta Braves had to move their scheduled workout Tuesday morning in doors as rain continued to fall throughout the Atlanta area. However, that was the only bad news of the day as Brian Snitker delivered some encouraging reports on the team’s injury situation heading into Wednesday’s Game 1 against the Cincinnati Reds.
The Braves are expected to have their full compliment of players available and at their disposal Wednesday and that includes reliever Chris Martin who left Sunday’s game after just four pitches due to soreness in his groin area. Snitker said that Martin had undergone treatment but saved himself by coming out of Sunday’s game early to get checked out. Snitker also said that Ronald Acuña Jr. and Austin Riley would be ready to go for the series opener as well. Acuña was a late scratch late scratch Sunday due to some lingering soreness in his wrist. The club stressed that holding him out was just precautionary and that he is ready to go. Riley was dealing with some quad soreness and sat out three of the last four regular season games. Snitker said that Riley had hit every day but admitted that he might not be completely 100 percent but would be good enough to play.
I took a stab at projecting Atlanta’s postseason roster on Monday but may have undersold how many position players they might actually carry. It is certainly sounding as if they are considering loading the bench for the short three game series. Snitker said that the deadline for the roster was sometime Wednesday morning and that they would probably wait until close to the deadline before releasing it.
Braves/Reds Series Preview
We have spent the last two days looking at the Reds examining their strengths and weaknesses. If you are looking for some pregame reading for Wednesday then this is a great place to start.
- The Reds have gone from regular season dark horse to postseason dark horse
- Cincinnati rotation will be formidable challenge for Braves
- Cincinnati’s offense struggled in 2020 but there are some talented hitters in the group
- Reds will be returning to the postseason for the first time since 2013
- How the Braves might beat the Reds
- How the Reds might beat the Braves
Talking Chop Podcast Episode 245: Previewing Braves-Reds
More preview articles from other outlets
- Who has the edge? Reds-Braves position-by-position - Richard Justice - MLB.com
- Three reasons why the Braves can win Game 1 - Mark Bowman - MLB.com
- NL Wild Card Series Preview: Braves vs Reds David Laurila - FanGraphs
- Q&A with Alex Anthopoulos: 3 division titles, aiming to end playoff drought David O’Brien - The Athletic
Tuesday Scoreboard
Astros 4, Twins 1 - Houston leads 1-0
White Sox 4, Athletics 1 - Chicago leads 1-0
Rays 3, Blue Jays 1 - Tampa leads 1-0
Yankees 12, Indians 3 - New York leads 1-0
MLB News
The Minnesota Twins suffered their 17th straight postseason loss Tuesday falling to the Astros 4-1. Minnesota played without prized offseason addition Josh Donaldson who was left off their roster for the Wild Card round due to a right calf injury.
The Astros announced Tuesday that they reached a one-year contract extension with first baseman Yuli Gurriel that also includes a club option for the 2022 season.
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