It wasn’t clear if Major League Baseball would have a season in 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but they were able to get in 60 games as well as an expanded postseason field thus far.
A champion will soon be crowned, and if the Los Angeles Dodgers want it to be it, they will have to go through a talented Atlanta Braves team in the National League Championship Series, which begins on Monday night at Globe Life Field in Texas.
The Dodgers made a couple of changes to their roster for the NLCS, adding Edwin Rios, who is returning from injury, and Alex Wood, in favor of Gavin Lux and Terrance Gore.
That gives them 15 pitchers on the active roster, which is the same number the Braves will have. With the potential of playing seven games in seven days in this series, it makes sense that both teams went with 15 pitchers to give themselves some more depth.
Unlike the Dodgers, the Braves decided not to make any changes to the NLCS roster, which features former Dodgers players like Grant Dayton, Travis d’Arnaud and Charlie Culberson.
d’Arnaud in particular is in the midst of an outstanding postseason as the catcher is hitting .421/.500/.842 with two home runs and seven RBI in five games.
Getting the start in Game 1 for Atlanta is lefty Max Fried, who is an L.A. native that attended Harvard Westlake High School. He is in the midst of a career season and has been the driving force for a Braves pitching staff that has recorded four shutouts in five postseason games.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the roster is Pablo Sandoval, who caught on with the Braves late in the season after being released by the San Francisco Giants.
PBraves postseason roster for NLCS (listed alphabetically in roles players held during regular season)
Starting pitchers: Ian Anderson, Max Fried, Kyle Wright, Juascar Ynoa
Relief pitchers: Grant Dayton, Shane Greene, Chris Martin, Tyler Matzek, Mark Melancon, A.J. Minter, Darren O’Day, Will Smith, Josh Tomlin, Jacob Webb, Bryse Wilson
Catchers: Travis d’Arnaud, Tyler Flowers
Infielders: Ozzie Albies, Charlie Culberson, Freddie Freeman, Austin Riley, Pablo Sandoval, Dansby Swanson
Outfielders: Ronald Acuña Jr., Adam Duvall, Nick Markakis, Marcell Ozuna, Cristian Pache
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