HOUSTON -- Tyler Mahle was part of a third-place Reds team that was swept by the Braves in the opening round of the expanded playoff format used during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. His hope to pitch in the 2023 playoffs for the Twins was erased when he underwent Tommy John surgery in May of that season.
So, it’s easy to understand why the veteran hurler had extra motivation as he helped the Braves claim a 6-2 win over the Astros on Friday night at Daikin Park. The victory clinched a postseason berth for Atlanta and allowed Mahle to grow more excited about what will be his first playoff start.
Now that the Braves (90-64) have guaranteed they’ll be in the postseason, they’ll focus on wrapping up the National League East. They own a five-game lead over the second-place Phillies (85-69) with just eight games remaining.
To clinch before heading home on Sunday night, the Braves would need to sweep this three-game series and have the Phillies lose one of the next two games against the Mets.
This is the eighth time in nine years that the Braves have reached the postseason. Their greatest run during that stretch occurred in 2021, when they celebrated a World Series title with a Game 6 win here in Houston.
Michael Harris II was a top prospect who attended World Series games as a fan that year. Matt Olson was also watching from afar as he was still a few months away from being traded by the A’s to his hometown team. As for Ronald Acuña Jr., he was recovering from knee surgery when the Braves won that title. This time, they each had a chance to have fun in Houston.
Harris, Acuña Jr. and Olson all hit a two-run homer to back Mahle, who allowed one run and three hits over six innings. This has become a typical outing for the right-hander, who has posted a 1.28 ERA in the eight starts he has made since being acquired from the Giants on Aug. 2.
With injuries further depleting the rotation’s depth recently, you can still argue the Braves could have benefited from the addition of another starter before the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline. But Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos deserves to be praised for landing Mahle, who had posted a 5.13 ERA in the 18 starts he made for San Francisco before the trade.
Anthopoulos drew criticism when he didn’t land what was perceived to be a frontline starter. Little did anybody know, Mahle would spend these past seven weeks proving to be better than any of those frontline starters who were available on the market.
Mahle’s ERA ranks third among all qualified MLB starters going back to Aug. 4, one day after the Trade Deadline. The only pitchers with a better mark during this stretch are the Yankees’ Cam Schlittler (1.00) and the Phillies’ Jesús Luzardo (1.08).