Game 2 of the National League Division Series will take place at the friendly confines of Turner Field in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves will have the 25 year-old Mike Minor on the bump against his counterpart Zack Greinke. Minor had a ERA of 3.21 over the 2013 regular season along with 181 strikeouts and 13 wins. He was drafted seventh overall in the 2009 draft and has never pitched in the postseason.
Greinke on the other hand has pitched in three postseason games going 1-1 with a 6.48 ERA. His 2013 season went well after being placed on the DL during a scuffle against the Padres. His 15-4 record put him at first in the NL in winning percentage at a mark of .789. He has been pitching great as of late as he won his last 12 of 14. The same year that Minor was drafted, Greinke was winning his Cy Young.
The Braves versus Dodgers regular season was in favor of Atlanta as they went 5-2. One of the two wins for the Dodgers came when Greinke got the start. In that game Greinke struck out seven men and only allowed four hits. The last time Minor faced Los Angeles was on June 9th where he picked up the win. He pitched six innings strong and looked like he had the Dodgers' hitters fooled.
This Friday night game will be a huge game in the series for both squads. Look for guys like Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward to be the cornerstones for this Atlanta ballclub while you can be sure Yasiel Puig will be trying his hardest to push the Dodgers to the next level. One of the most intriguing things about this series has to do with Puig. As a lot of people know by now teams like to “pimp” their home runs against the Braves pitchers for whatever reason. If Puig connects on one you can be sure that catcher Brian McCann will have a few words with him. It will be very interesting to see what happens in this series.
Most people have picked the Los Angeles Dodgers to win this series due in large part to their starting pitching. The Atlanta Braves are no rookies when it comes to being the underdog. Only time will tell how this series will pan out.