Life's Too Sports

The Atlanta Braves defeated the Cincinnati Reds by the score of 5-0 in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series on Thursday. Atlanta's first postseason series victory since 2001 sends them to an NLDS match-up with the victor of the (3) Cubs - (6) Marlins series -- beginning on Tuesday, October 6. The Braves' offensive firepower was largely held in check in their  Game 1 victory , and for the majority of Game 2, the Reds stifled this team once again. However, it's pretty difficult to lose a series when your opposition fails to score -- and that's exactly what happened here. Atlanta's second consecutive shutout was largely due to the efforts of starting pitcher Ian Anderson, who went six scoreless innings -- allowing two hits, two walks, and striking out nine batters. The Braves broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth, when Ronald Acuna Jr. drove an RBI double to left-center field to score Austin Riley. And in the eighth, Atlanta buried any h...

The Atlanta Braves defeated the Cincinnati Reds by the score of 1-0 in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series on Wednesday. Despite Reds' starter Trevor Bauer pitching an absolute gem (7.2 IP, 2 H, 12 SO), the Braves managed to capitalize in the clutch moments of a scoreless contest. Atlanta didn't make an error on Wednesday afternoon. Their defensive capabilities were on full display in the seventh inning, when Austin Riley's diving tag prevented Aristides Aquino from breaking the scoreless tie. Meanwhile, the Braves also received a stellar performance from their young starter Max Fried (7.0 IP, 6 H, 5 SO). As the matchup crept closer to becoming the longest scoreless game in MLB postseason history, however, it was Atlanta's relievers who repeatedly dealt clutch strikes to escape jams. In the 11th inning, Tyler Matzek struck out Mike Moustakas to strand the bases loaded. In the 12th, Matzek struck out Freddy Galvis with two runners in scoring positi...