The Braves will enter the playoffs with the most wins this year and a rested pitching staff after blowing the doors off the National League East. They’ve had a double-digit lead since mid-August. To Atlanta president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos, cruising into the playoffs provides an edge they lacked last year, when the 101-win Braves were one-and-done after a division series against Philadelphia.
“One thing that a good start and a good season allows us is to have a little more emphasis on prioritizing rest in the rotation over the last month,” Anthopoulos says. “Our rotation was out of gas when we got to the playoffs last year. I felt like the playoffs was the Mets series. It was great, but it caught up to us.
“Take nothing away from the Phillies. They were great. They earned it. But we felt like our rotation was gassed when we got to the playoffs.”
