The Atlanta Braves lost a tough one to the Seattle Mariners last night.
Up by a single run in the 9th after a pitching duel between Braves starter Max Fried and Mariners righty Bryce Miller, Atlanta went to A.J. Minter to get the final three outs and start the road trip with a victory. Instead, a Jorge Polanco leadoff single and a Mitch Garver homer gave Seattle the walkoff win in game one.
And the usage of Minter has had people asking why Raisel Iglesias, the team’s primary closer, wasn’t the choice to get the final three outs and seal the ballgame.
While manager Brian Snitker didn’t directly address it after the game, it’s commonly understood that Iglesias was not available due to his usage, having pitched in the final two games of the previous series against the Cleveland Guardians.
And there’s a reason why Atlanta didn’t want to use Iglesias for a third straight day: He isn’t very good in those situations.
Braves Today went back over 2023’s game logs and identified four times where Iglesias pitched on three consecutive days. And spoiler alert: they’re not pretty. It’s an entirely defensible decision by the coaching staff to go with A.J. Minter, who was in the midst of a nine-outing scoreless streak, over Iglesias on Monday night. Let’s go over it.
The Braves were on the road for the holiday, taking on the Guardians in Cleveland’s Progressive Field. Iglesias, who had thrown a combined 22 pitches in the previous two games (both clean ninth innings with one strikeout each), is called on for the 10th inning with a 5-5 tie.
Here’s how the 10th goes for Iglesias:
With Amed Rosario at second base, an intentional walk of José Ramirez
Ground ball double play by Gabriel Arias
With Amed Rosario at third base, an intentional walk of Andrés Giménez (who takes second base on defensive indifference)
David Fry game-winning single to left field
