The Braves' season has been defined by overcoming injuries, and their postseason journey will likely be similar.
National League Cy Young Award candidate Chris Sale was removed from the team's wild-card roster after back spamming his team's chances.
The Braves are now Turn to right-handed AJ Smith-Shaverhas appeared in seven career games and appeared in Game 1 against the Padres on Tuesday night.
Losing Sale puts the Braves in a tough spot in the best-of-three series and raises questions about his availability if Atlanta advances.
The Braves had Sale in Game 2 in case they had to win Monday's doubleheader, and it looked like they were going to start Sale after the Mets bounced back in Game 1.
However, Sale was experiencing back spasms and it was learned on Monday that he would not be able to pitch in the second game.
Braves manager Brian Snitker said after the 3-0 win in Game 2 that Sale would likely miss the game against the Padres, but they were hopeful.
One day later, they'll have to beat a strong Padres team without their ace.
Sale, 35, had an 18-3 record and a 2.38 ERA, striking out 225 batters in 177 2/3 innings. All these numbers earned him the National League pitching triple crown.
He developed back inflammation during his last pitch against the Reds on September 19th, and nearly two weeks later, he is still not ready to return to the mound.
“(The sale) has been shot down,” Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said Monday. According to MLB.com. “There was a little bit of, 'Should he go there or not?'” But at the end of the day, he wasn't at his best and ultimately didn't believe he could help the team. , if you can hurt yourself, it's not a good outcome overall. ”
Smith Schober, 21, pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings at the major league level this season, but has only pitched 29 2/3 innings in MLB.
He went 3-8 with a 4.85 ERA in the minors, with 20 of his 21 starts coming in Triple-A.
The Padres have -174 odds to win the series on FanDuel, while the Braves have +146 odds. The winner will play the top-seeded Dodgers in the ALDS.
