Braves and Phillies Limp Into a Wild Card Bloodbath

Ken Rosenthal just dropped his preview for the Braves-Phillies Wild Card series, and honestly, the biggest storyline is who is actually left standing to play in it.

The Atlanta Braves are entering October with a pitching rotation that looks like a medical journal. Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, Reynaldo Lopez, Bryce Elder, and Martin Perez are all dealing with injuries. Atlanta is basically holding open tryouts in the bullpen parking lot at this point.

"Ken Rosenthal shared his series preview on Twitter, noting key storylines to watch."

Philadelphia isn't exactly skipping into the playoffs at full health either. Luis Arraez just sprained his ankle trying to avoid a tag and is officially off the Wild Card roster. Losing a guy who hits singles in his sleep is a brutal blow for a Phillies lineup that relies on him to set the table.

Despite the hospital ward vibes in Atlanta, the Braves are sitting as 65 percent home favorites for Game 1. That number feels like it is heavily weighting the regular season, where Atlanta absolutely bullied Philadelphia. The Braves took nine of their 13 matchups this year and outscored the Phillies 66-43.

But regular season math rarely survives contact with Red October. The Philadelphia Phillies have turned ruining the Braves' postseason dreams into a regional pastime over the last few years. You can have all the regular-season run differential you want, but it does not matter when a stadium full of people in red starts treating a Tuesday afternoon game like a heavyweight title fight.

Game 1 is going to come down to whether Atlanta's surviving arms can navigate a dangerous Phillies lineup without Arraez. Whoever survives this series might just need a week in a hyperbaric chamber before the Division Series even starts.