The Phillies were two wins away from achieving the World Series last season, so now they are looking to make the big blow regardless of the fact that to do so they have to face the Atlanta Braves in the Division Series, the team that finished with the best record in the regular season.
We feel that this team is made for this,” said JT Realmuto. “We are made to succeed in the postseason. With what we did last year, we gained more confidence to be able to achieve it. Obviously, we're going to face a very good team in Atlanta, but we trust the guys on this club. It will be a lot of fun,” added the Phillies catcher.
The Phillies are not the favorite team to win that five-game series. It was a similar case last year, but they ended up winning in four games.
There are no secrets between the two teams,” said Kyle Schwarber. “They know who we are. We know who they are. It will be a dog fight. No doubts".
The Phillies manager knows who will start Game 1, but said he won't announce it until he talks to the pitchers involved. Venezuelan left-hander Ranger Suárez is the favorite, although Mexican national team Taijuan Walker and Dominican Cristopher Sánchez are also good options.
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The Braves have Spencer Strider as their option for the first game, followed by Max Fried.
“We know what they can do, we know how good they are,” Realmuto said. “But they definitely don't intimidate us. We feel like we align well with them. We match well. “If we go out and play well, we’ll be there at the end.”
The Braves were the best team with 104 wins and were 14 games ahead of the Phillies in the American League East Division, but starting tomorrow it is a new story to define the best of three of five games.
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