With the Philadelphia Phillies putting up double digits on their side of the scoreboard, you have to credit the overwhelming offensive performance they put forth in Game 3, the first of two games in Philadelphia for this NLDS. In totality, though, the Braves loss must be pinned mostly on Brian Snitker.
A caveat to start and to be sure: The options available to him in some regards were not great. The Braves' most clear weakness throughout the year has been starting pitching, and the Braves did not acquire options to patch things up on that front. Many of the mistakes of the night cascaded from that simple fact.
Yet, this is the job of the manager, however impossible it may be.
These three mistakes which will be credited to Snitker in the end were insurmountable for Atlanta in their Game 3 loss.
Wrong catcher behind the plate
I genuinely do love what Travis d'Arnaud has done this season, and even can step back and appreciate the Braves sticking to their guns and going for depth at catcher when some were calling for them to liquidate the position to get themselves starting pitching.
Again, though, this is all about use of resources, not what resources are actually available.
Plain and simple, Sean Murphy is 2-for-8 this season against Aaron Nola, d'Arnaud 6-for-36. d'Arnaud went a frustrating 0-for-4 on the night. One can easily see the justification for keeping him in the lineup coming off a two-game home run streak, but in retrospect, the season-long trend may have been worth following here.
Furthermore, don't you want the best catcher there calling plays and managing the game when you have an inexpeienced pitcher on the bump, like Bryce Elder?
Kevin Pillar should have been the left fielder for the night
This mistake, in part, illustrates how impossible the circumstances were for Snitker on Wednesday night against the Phillies. Kevin Pillar is not an ideal left fielder to start in a meaningful NLDS game, but he probably should have been there over Eddie Rosario, at least for the night.
For one, Rosario has struggled against Aaron Nola, Philadelphia's chosen starting pitcher for the night, with the worst OPS of any Braves batter that faced him 10 times or more in the regular season this year. To add to that, Pillar, much like Murphy, could have been a wild card of sorts since Nola only had nine at-bats against him this year (with three hits and three strikeouts in those at-bats).
Most painful for Braves fans, though, was the lack of hustle displayed early in the game by Rosario. In the third inning, J.T. Realmuto hit a ball deep in the left center gap with the contest still close, and Rosario had a shot at it but got a slow jump and displayed an even worse acceleration toward the fly ball, allowing it to drop in for a base hit.
It wasn't necessarily an easy play, but it surely could have been a play for Atlanta. The expected batting average on the hit was .220.
Pillar's sprint speed this year has been about the same as Rosario's, but this was everything about demonstrated effort, not actual capabilities.
Starting Bryce Elder
This misstep I am most sympathetic for. Brian Snitker could have started Elder or gone with a bullpen game. There were murmurs he could have also started AJ Smith-Shawver in his place.
Briefly, it looked as if the Braves had made a possible series-winning move, with Elder retiring his first six batters. The TBS broadcast pointed out that the batter's eye had a tough auburn sunlight glaze on it that made it tough to pick up pitch movement. Batters on both sides didn't register a hit in the first two innings.
Seemingly, as soon as that sun went down and the batter's eye was all green, Elder was figured out. To start the third, Nick Castellanos hit a home run. From then on out, the Phillies appeared in command.
So, where was the mistake if there wasn't a good option here for Snitker? Bullpen game. Elder held his own for a few innings -- unknown how much the batter's eye played into that or not -- but should have been subbed out early. Elder had never played a postseason game before, and expecting him to be the guy in this one for six innings wasn't fair.
A bullpen game would have given the Phils offense multiple different looks and made the pitching more dyanmic, making up for the sheer lack of skill and experience on a night like this one.
Snitker was forced into that bullpen game, anyway, but had he been more intentional about it, momentum may not have gotten as far away from Atlanta as it did in Game 3. Chalk this up, in part, to Alex Anthopoulos as well.
