Mets, Braves set for wild doubleheader to make (or miss) the postseason | Baseball Bar-B-Cast
Yahoo Sports senior MLB analysts Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman break down the unique scenarios for Monday's pair of games in Atlanta - in which the winner of Game 1 clinches a playoff spot, and then may be willing to sacrifice a split to quickly move on to the postseason. Hear the full conversation on the “Baseball Bar-B-Cast” podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
We are left with one of the more wonky bizarre baseball things that I can remember in recent memory.
Now, why is it so weird?
If one tea sweeps tomorrow, they are in the team that gets swept is out in the Arizona Diamondbacks watching from home, are in the playoff field.
However, if the Mets and Braves split tomorrow, they will both be in the playoffs in Arizona will be left on the outside looking in whoever wins a game tomorrow, whoever wins the first game tomorrow will have a spot in the postseason.
So that is a fact.
All right, let's just start there.
And so if you knew that fact you would think, oh, wow, what an opportunity, you can clinch a postseason spot if you, you know, win this game.
Shouldn't you pitch your best starter?
No, that is not.
What is happening because of the scenario that Jake has laid out where if you lose the first game, the team you just lost to is chilling.
And thus, that second game will not need, uh, to be won and thus will not need to start the pitchers, uh, that they actually will be wanting to start and in theory, then save for the start of the wild card round on Tuesday, let's say the Braves win game one.
They got Spencer Schwalbach who's very good.
He's starting in game one.
They win, they have Chris sale in the pocket.
They're not gonna throw him in game two.
They're gonna find whoever the least important pitchers are that can suck up innings are going to throw the innings in game two.
And I would imagine a number of important Braves will not play in game two.
Like Ozzie Albis is not playing in game two if they win game one, right?
And therefore the road for the Mets is very easy in game two.
Not only are the Braves not trying, they are incentivized to lose as quickly as possible so that they can get on a plane for their game the following day.
Now, this is San Diego.
San Diego.
This is something that we see frankly often in getaway days.
Like if a team is playing on a Sunday afternoon, swing rates go up.
Like guys are more aggressive knowing that like they need to get the game over with quicker.
That is the thing, ok?
Talk to any former player, guys are swinging on getaway days.
And so this is that times 1000 not like the winning team of game one is gonna go out there in game two and just throw it and like, but it will change behavioral choices and it already has based upon the pitching matchup.