Jayson Stark Discusses the Phillies- Braves NLDS Series
The Phillies took game 1 of the NLDS series from the Braves. And to get some insight into the rest of the series, who better to talk to than Jayson Stark? He joined “The Best Show Ever?” to discuss the series, Kyle Schwarber’s struggles, Nick Castellanos’s big game, and more. Here is some of what Jayson Stark had to say…
On The Phillies Have Wheeler and Nola Lined up for Games 2 and 3
“This is how this team was built. To get to these games with Wheeler and Nola lined up. They aren’t built to split, they are built to win 1 and 2. That is why sweeping that series in St Louis was so important. It is why winning yesterday was so important. It sets up this scenario. Zack Wheeler has dominated the Braves since he got to the Phillies. 10 starts, and I believe it is a total of 15 earned runs. If you have watched him, he has been throwing the best he has thrown all year, since he came off the injured list. Which is the whole reason he spent that time on the injured list.
I think about this every year, little things matter. Think about the two aces with these two teams. The Phillies roll the dice. They back off Zack Wheeler for almost a month. And it works. They are getting the best out of him heading into these games. Meanwhile the Braves, Max Fried their Ace gets sick… They take a chance on still starting him yesterday in game 1. He is obviously not right. Throws the worst he has thrown all year. It is a huge swing in this series. And this is how these series get decided.”
On Kyle Schwarber’s Recent Struggles
Schwarber is streaky… Basically, with him, they are waiting for the next streak. When he has one of those games where he hits two bombs, they win. The other thing is how many times he has had to face left-handed pitching. Three times in game 1 against the Cardinals. Twice in game 2. Three times a gain yesterday. It’s a problem for him. He is .193 vs left-handers. Cardinals matched up left-handers against him and Harper. The Braves are built to do the same. He is not going to get a lot of at-bats from guys who pitch from the right side. Today is a big day for him against Kyle Wright.
Listen to the Full Interview With Jayson Stark Below…
