The Braves face a must-win game after AJ Smith-Shawver stumbles and batters flail

SAN DIEGO – It would be easy to place most of the blame for the Atlanta Braves’ 4-0 loss to the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card Series opener on AJ Smith-Shawver, who gave up a two-pitch first-pitch homer to second batter he faced, Fernando Tatis Jr., with a pedestrian fastball over the middle of the plate.

Or to blame Braves officials for choosing to sign a 21-year-old rookie who has appeared in just one major league game and eight MLB games this season – which was four months ago in his career, including an earlier postseason appearance in which he allowed three home runs in 2 2/3 innings of relief.

But the game wasn’t lost when Smith-Shawver struck out with one out in the second inning on Tuesday night and the Braves trailed 3-0. At least it didn’t have to be that way. Add to that the fact that right-hander Michael King completely dominated the Atlanta hitters with 12 strikeouts in seven innings, and then it was over.

Now, fueled by players who have produced some of their best performances this season when others wrote them off, the Braves have their backs against the proverbial wall. They have to win in the postseason on Wednesday night at sold-out Petco Park or the Braves will be eliminated until the spring.

“Here we go,” Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud said of the message he will give to his teammates. “It’s almost like (Monday), it’s win or go home. We all know what the situation is and we will be ready to play.”

Travis d’Arnaud delivers a message to AJ Smith-Shawver during an eventful second innings. “He came ready to go. He was pumped up.” (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

The Braves faced a must-win situation in Game 2 of Monday’s makeup doubleheader against the New York Mets after blowing a lead and losing Game 1 as the Mets clinched a wild-card spot .

The Braves needed to win the second game of the day to clinch a wild-card spot, and they did, with Grant Holmes succeeding in an emergency start after Chris Sale was scratched due to back spasms. The bullpen also came through, including a pair of relievers, Joe Jiménez and Raisel Iglesias, who gave up big runs in the first game and came back undeterred in the nightcap.

On Wednesday, the Braves will put Max Fried on the mound, and teammates say he’s the ideal man for the job. For even more drama, it could be his last start for the Braves, as Fried is an impending free agent.

Do the Braves have a good chance of evening the series and forcing a Game 3?

“Absolutely,” said Aaron Bummer, who pitched 2 2/3 hitless and scoreless innings on Tuesday, on a night in which he and two lower-leverage relievers, Jesse Chavez and Luke Jackson, pitched 6 2/3 innings Smith only allowed one hit – Shawver left the game. That hit was an eighth-inning home run by Kyle Higashioka against Jackson.

Their efforts allowed the Braves to rest powerful pitchers who had worked extensively the previous two days, giving Atlanta a full-capacity bullpen behind Fried on Wednesday.

“(Fried) went out and did it, he pitched in the World Series, he did a whole handful of things,” Bummer said. “I’m looking forward to watching him pitch and I know he’s going to go out there and … compete as best he can. “I don’t want anyone but Max out there right now.”

D’Arnaud said of the team’s consideration of starting Fried in the crucial game: “All the confidence in the world. He’s played in big games like this. He’s the star in big games like this and there’s no one we’d rather have on the mound.”

When the Padres heard that Sale, the NL Triple Crown winner and presumptive Cy Young winner, was left out of Monday’s doubleheader, they wondered if he would play in the Wild Card Series. When he was dropped from the series’ roster, they got their answer. They knew what it meant for the Braves.

“Chris Sale was probably the guy that the entire team (Braves) would have wanted to draft,” Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts said. “But he wasn’t available, so they had to call someone else. Obviously we know the situation they were in. It sucked (for them), but it’s baseball, right?”

Meanwhile, the Padres had their best lineup for the series, with Joe Musgrove facing Fried on Wednesday and Dylan Cease starting a possible Game 3 on Thursday. The Braves will probably use Reynaldo López in Game 3 if they make it.

King made things much more difficult for them in his first postseason start. By striking out a dozen in seven innings without a walk and allowing just five hits, including four singles, King had one of the best early playoff starts in history.

It was the second-most strikeouts in a single game in the Padres’ postseason history, behind only Kevin Brown’s 16, and King was the first in MLB history with 12 strikeouts and no runs or walks in a postseason game.

“He controlled the zone, he controlled the game,” Braves centerfielder Michael Harris II said. “I think he had 12 strikeouts. That’s a lot of strikeouts. He definitely did a good job of making his pitches and controlling the game.”

Padres reliever Jason Adam struck out three more Braves in the eighth inning, making the Padres the first team in postseason history to strike out at least 15 batters in a game without allowing a walk or runs. In fact, no pitcher from any other team has had more than 11 strikeouts in a postseason game without giving up walks or runs.

“I think the most important thing for us was not to miss the pitch that we want to get to,” Harris said. “(King) did a good job of not letting it go past the middle of the plate, so it was tough.”

The Braves looked at strikes and swung on many pitches well outside and inside the strike zone, hitting sliders, sweepers and sinkers that were a foot or more from the plate.

“He located both of his (fastballs), both inside and outside,” d’Arnaud said of King. “He went out the back door, then back in, then in with four stitches and out with four stitches. Even his slider, he was able to throw it to attack and make us chase him too.”

And Smith Shawver?

“He was ready to go, he was full of energy,” d’Arnaud said. “He looked good in the bullpen. Unfortunately, they were able to capitalize on some mistakes. Tatis got there early, the first pitch he was ready to go, got a pitch and didn’t miss it. So you have to give these guys credit. Winning the ball there as a 21-year-old is impressive. He wasn’t afraid, he just made a few mistakes and we had to pay for them.”

The Braves did not expect Smith-Shawver, who typically throws harder, to fire fastballs at 93-94 mph, which he did to the first two batters. After seven pitches, he had allowed a single to NL batting champion Luis Arraez and a mammoth 112.8 mph, 415-foot home run to Tatis with a 93.5 mph fastball across the plate.

“Obviously it didn’t work out the way you put it, but that’s baseball,” Smith-Shawver said. “Tatis likes it. I kind of left one up.”

He threw just three fastballs over 95.8, and the 95.0 average of his 15 fastballs was 1.2 mph below what Smith-Shawver hit in his May start against the Cubs at Wrigley Field – an encouraging performance , which however left him with a strained oblique, putting him on the injured list.

“He started at 93,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker, who didn’t expect that from Smith-Shawver early Tuesday. “Then suddenly I saw 98s up there. We did a good job of limiting the damage. And the bullpen did a great job keeping the game there.

“Like I said, it wasn’t because of our starting XI that we didn’t win this game. We couldn’t get anything going offensively.”

Smith-Shawver was asked about his slow pace on those early pitches, including the one where Tatis was pulverized.

“You just try to get out there, throw a few and settle in,” he said. “And whenever you need it, you can step on it. That’s exactly what I did this year. Kind of back and forth.”

But this isn’t Triple A. It’s a best-of-three MLB postseason series. The need to “step on it” was immediate.

And now the Braves and Fried have no margin for error. It’s win or go home.

Fried said before the game that he hadn’t had a chance to speak with Smith-Shawver since he was named the starter, as the rookie wasn’t notified by Snitker until just before noon Tuesday. But if he had had the chance to talk to him, Fried would have said, “Go out and leave it all out there. Have no regrets.”

That didn’t happen on Tuesday. Now Fried and the Braves, including and perhaps especially their hitters, must do it on Wednesday.

(Top photo by Marcell Ozuna: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)