The regular season wasn’t kind to shortstop Trea Turner, who recorded the worst season of his career. But the thing about the postseason is that it allows players who have not yet written the final story on their season to become heroes.
And if the Phillies want to move past Atlanta and reach the NLDS for the fifth straight year, Turner finding his rhythm would be a welcome sight for the team’s offense. Turner has a .733 OPS off Sale in 25 career at-bats and a very respectable .863 OPS off Mahle in 25 career at-bats.
Tyler Mahle, set to throw Game 2, has been one of the game’s most reliable starters since he joined the Braves from a zip-less San Francisco team at the deadline. The veteran righty posted a 1.99 ERA with Atlanta, allowing one earned or fewer in seven of his nine starts.
Mahle’s most recent start, however, was a relative stinker. He surrendered five runs and struck out just four at home against an undermanned Reds lineup. And the underlying metrics, it should be said, are a bit more skeptical about Mahle’s prospects. That’s understandable. He doesn’t throw that hard or strike out oodles of hitters. He hasn’t conjured more swing-and-miss or meaningfully lowered opponents’ hard-hit rate as a Brave. And yet, Mahle has found a way to find outs. Whether he can do so against Philly’s bats will be huge.