Playoff baseball returns to Petco Park. The Padres get set to host the Atlanta Braves in the National League Wild Card Series.

The San Diego Padres are coming off an exciting 93-69 regular season. They will send the red-hot Michael King (13-9, 2.95 ERA) to the mound against a Braves offense that was ranked first in fWAR in 2024. To realize their dream of the franchise’s first World Series title, San Diego must get past the perennially contending Braves at home.

The 26-man roster for the Wild Card Series is set.#FightForTheFaithful pic.twitter.com/mGEPuaZrO2

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) October 1, 2024

Lining Up…

The Braves come into the series with MLB’s best offense via fWAR, but the team is missing some of its core offensive producers. Ronald Acuna Jr. has been out with a torn left ACL since May, and Austin Riley will not return to the field this season after a hand injury. While the Braves recently received lineup reinforcements in the form of Ozzie Albies returning from injury, they are not quite at full strength.

Even so, the Braves have plenty of thump in their bats. Travis d’Arnaud and Sean Murphy have formed a strong catching tandem behind the plate. Ramon Laureano has performed valiantly in the outfield, with a 125 wRC+ to boot. Then there is Marcell Ozuna. He finished in third place for the National League batting title with an impressive .304 batting average and 156 wRC+. It is somewhat telling of the Braves’ fortunes this season when the oft-injured Ozuna is one of two players to start over 150 games for the team, with the other being first baseman Matt Olson.

Atlanta added reinforcements during the season as well, bringing in Gio Urshela to play third base after Riley’s untimely injury. The veteran has been serviceable in 34 games with the Braves, batting .264 with a .432 slugging percentage. The biggest in-season addition to this lineup is corner outfielder/ designated hitter Jorge Soler. The one-time Braves legend has continued to bring another on-base threat for the Braves, reaching base at a .356 clip with Atlanta after the trade. While Soler has been an above-average bat for the Braves, the team will likely be playing him in right field due to the presence of Ozuna. That could certainly come into play with the dimensions of right field at Petco Park.

The Braves will likely send out a lineup similar to Monday’s doubleheader.

Michael Harris II – CF
Ozzie Albies – 2B
Marcell Ozuna – DH
Matt Olson – 1B
Jorge Soler – RF
Ramon Laureano – LF
Travis d’Arnaud – C
Gio Urshela – 3B
Orlando Arcia – SS

On the Hill…

The pitching staff for the Braves is in a state of flux as of the publication of this article. Their ace (and NL Triple Crown winner) Chris Sale is off the roster for the NL Wild Card Series as he battles back spasms. Max Fried would be pitching on short rest if he were to be the Game 1 starter. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports that the Braves are decided between right-handers Bryce Elder, and AJ Smith-Shawver to be the Game 1 starter. Presumably, this allows them to pitch Max Fried in Game 2 and Reynaldo Lopez in Game 3, if necessary. Smith-Shawver is getting the nod for Game 1, according to reports.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Padres send out three of their hottest arms out to the mound. Manager Mike Shildt announcing that Michael King would start Game 1. Joe Musgrove would start Game 2, and Dylan Cease would start in Game 3, if necessary. That shapes the pitching matchups as follows:

Game 1: AJ Smith-Shawver (ATL) vs Michael King (SD)

Game 2: Max Fried (ATL) vs Joe Musgrove (SD)

If necessary, Game 3: Reynaldo Lopez (ATL) vs Dylan Cease (SD)

The Braves’ pitching staff is in a bind as a whole after playing five games in four days. The Braves used closer Raisel Iglesias in both games of their doubleheader. They also burned top relievers Joe Jimenez, Pierce Johnson, and Dylan Lee. While the team has yet to announce their playoff roster, the arms included will be a big factor in the team’s plans.

The Wild Card Series kicks off at 5:38 pm Pacific at Petco Park, with King on the mound for the Padres for his first playoff start.

Diego Garcia

A born and raised San Diegan, Diego Garcia is a lifetime Padres fan and self-proclaimed baseball nerd. Diego wrote about baseball on his own site between 2021-22 before joining the East Village Times team in 2024. He also posts baseball content on his YouTube channel “Stat Nerd Baseball”, creating content around trades, hypotheticals, player analyses, the San Diego Padres, and MLB as a whole.

A 2024 graduate of San Diego State, Diego aims to grow as a writer and content creator in the baseball community.