Ahead of Saturday's Game 1 of the National League Division Series, the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies have named their starting pitchers. The Braves will roll with right-hander Spencer Strider; the Phillies, who used Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola earlier this week in their NL Wild Card Series sweep against the Miami Marlins, will counter with left-hander Ranger Suárez.
Strider, 24, might win the NL Cy Young Award this fall. In 32 starts, he amassed a 3.86 ERA (115 ERA+) and a 4.84 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Strider faced the Phillies on four occasions during the regular season, tallying a 2.24 ERA and striking out 35 more batters than he walked in 26 innings. Game 1 will represent his second career postseason start -- last October, he had an uncharacteristically poor showing versus the Phillies that saw him yield five runs on three hits and two walks in 2 1/3 innings.
Strider is essentially a two-pitch pitcher, with his upper-90s fastball and mid-80s slider combining to account for more than 90% of his pitches.
Suárez, 28, was limited to 22 starts this season. He compiled a 4.18 ERA (103 ERA+) and a 2.48 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Suárez faced the Braves just once this regular season. In that start, he surrendered a single run across six innings. Game 1 will mark his sixth career postseason appearance, and his fourth start. He held the Braves to one run in 3 1/3 innings last fall.
Suárez threw five pitches at least 10% of the time during the regular season: a pair of low-90s fastballs, a mid-70s curve, a low-80s changeup, and a cutter.
As noted above, the Braves and Phillies also met in last fall's NLDS. The Phillies won that series in four games en route to a World Series loss versus the Houston Astros.
