NL wild-card preview: Atlanta Braves vs. St. Louis Cardinals

It seems somehow applicable that the aboriginal of the two single-elimination wild-card amateur — Bold 163, in essence, admitting it’s advised a postseason bold and not a approved division one — pairs the two teams that went down to the wire for the wild-card in Bold 162 endure year. The Braves’ beauteous accident opened the aperture for the Cardinals to clasp into the playoffs, and the Redbirdscheap nfl jerseys ultimately went on to win the World Series. This year, Atlanta larboard itself affluence of breath allowance to accomplish the playoffs acknowledgment to a 20-10 almanac from Sept. 1 onward, not that that cycle is predictive; St. Louis didn’t absolutely slouch down the stretch, acceptable 12 of its final 16 games. The Braves won the division alternation 5-1 over the Cardinals, and took two out of three in their abandoned alternation at Turner Field in backward May.

Atlanta comes into this single-elimination bold benumbed arguably the hottest abode in the majors in Kris Medlen. In his aboriginal abounding division aback from Tommy John surgery, the 26-year-old righty didn’t accompany their circling until July 31 and fabricated just 12 starts, but the Braves won all of those games, and Medlen has sparkled. As a starter, he has acquaint a diminutive 0.97 ERA and an 84/10 strikeout-to-walk arrangement in 83 2/3 innings, relying on a abstract changeup with a 27 percent aroma rate, set up by an outstanding ambit and a well-placed 90 MPH fastball. Ten of his 12 starts were superior starts, the alone exceptions getting his aboriginal two, in which he was still architecture his backbone and lasted beneath than six innings. Alone already did he acquiesce even three runs. He didn’t face the Cardinals as a starter, authoritative three abatement appearances adjoin them accretion 5 2/3 innings in May. If he can accord the Braves six or seven innings tonight, he’ll about-face things over to a abode that ranked additional in the NL with a 2.76 ERA, with lefties Eric O’Flaherty and Jonny Venters ambience up righty Craig Kimbrel, who addled out a arresting 50.2 percent of the batters he faced this year and yielded a 1.01 ERA while converting 42 out of 45 save opportunities.