The Phillies and Braves are Tied

The rain delay was not enough to throw off the defending champions. The Atlanta Braves, after falling to the Philadelphia Phillies in game 1 of the NLDS, did not budge on Wednesday to tie the series one apiece. This game was extremely important for Atlanta to win given the best-of-five series that they are playing. For the Braves, going down two games would be scary for the defending champions. After the Phillies took the substantial early lead against the Braves in game one, the Braves came storming back late in the game. Ultimately, it was not enough and the Phillies would hold off the Braves for the 7-6 victory.

Blooper reel. #Postseason pic.twitter.com/kkzLHCyCX3

— MLB (@MLB) October 13, 2022

Game 2

It was a pitchers duel with two of the elite starters in the MLB. Starting pitcher Zack Wheeler came out hot in his first postseason run with the Phillies. On Wednesday, Wheeler would continue his dominance on the mound until he would run into some trouble in the sixth inning. It would start when he would hit Ronald Acuña Jr. with a fastball and got the Atlanta lineup started. The Braves were able to take advantage by breaking the tie and scoring 3 runs in the sixth inning.

As for the Braves, they were able to lock the Phillies lineup down with pitcher Kyle Wright. After a three-hour rain delay before the game started, Wright was not fazed. In six innings pitched, Wright only gave up two hits with one walk and six strikeouts. Atlanta was then able to lean on its bullpen to close out the last three innings of the game. A.J. Minter, Raisel Iglesias and Kenley Jansen would close out the game for Atlanta to secure the game.

What to Expect

It was essential for the Phillies to take at least one game in Atlanta to start the series. Now the Braves will have to travel to Philadelphia for the next two games giving the Phillies their first home games of the postseason so far. Although this is no confirmation on who is pitching for the Braves on Friday, Aaron Nola will get the nod for the Phillies. Nola has been solid all season with a 3.24 ERA this season and ended the year fourth in strikeouts with 235. It should not be a surprise if Nola is able to have success against this offensive juggernaut of a team.

There is potential for rookie phenom Spencer Strider to get the start on Friday for the Braves. Strider has not pitched since Sept. 18 after suffering an oblique injury but was playing as good or better than everyone on the Braves rotation before he got hurt. He would end his regular season with an 11-5 record and a 2.67 ERA.

Both teams have high-powered offenses that could pop at any moment to score some runs. So it will be up to the pitching on both sides to be the difference maker. So far this season, Atlanta has had the pitching edge, but in the playoffs, anything can happen.