The Atlanta Braves are one win away from securing their first World Series crown since 1995. The players understand the magnitude of the moment but they are still taking a one game at a time approach. The Houston Astros now have their backs against the wall but won’t go away quietly. Sunday’s start would have gone to Charlie Morton before he suffered a fractured fibula in Game 1. Instead, it will be rookie left-hander Tucker Davidson who made just four starts at the major league level before suffering a forearm injury that essentially wiped out the remainder of the regular season.
The Braves went with an opener in Game 4, but Brian Snitker said that Davidson would start Game 5 and that they will go with him as long as they can.
“He’s going to start the game, and we’ll just go with him as long as he’ll let us take him,” Snitker said when asked about Davidson’s role for Sunday. “It’s pretty much like Kyle, just progress he had made in Gwinnett. He’d had some outings, was throwing the ball well, feels good, got stretched out. Like I say, very similar to the discussions we had about Kyle.”
Wright came up big for the Braves in Game 4 allowing one run over 4 2/3 innings despite pitching in and out of trouble. He gave the team a chance to win and they are looking for something similar from Davidson.
Snitker said that he called Davidson Sunday morning to tell him he was starting.
“Honestly, I called him this morning,” Snitker said. “Again, these young guys that are going through this for the first time, for their benefit, like I said with Dylan yesterday, and I know their phones have been blowing up and would be and processing a lot. I called Tucker, and he said,”let’s do it.”
“He’s ready. He’s another one that he’s been through all the levels of all our organization, and we really liked what we saw out of him early in the year before he had his problems.”
Davidson made a rehab start at Gwinnett the final weekend of the season and continued to work at the alternate training site throughout the postseason just in case he was needed. His call came when Morton was lost to injury. It is a huge spot for a rookie to find himself in, but his teammates think he will do just fine.
“He’s kind of loose right now,” Will Smith said when asked about Davidson. “He actually walked in and said good morning, and we’re like, Tucker, it’s 3:15, so good afternoon. He’s the way he is. We’ve got a loose group. Nobody is going to put a ton of pressure on themselves. We know what we have to do. It’s as simple as that.
Lost in the heroics of the back-to-back home runs by Dansby Swanson and Jorge Soler in Game 4, was an unbelievable catch by Eddie Rosario at the wall on a deep drive by Jose Altuve. Luke Jackson was on the mound when Rosario made that catch and he was asked for his reaction.
“I mean, at first I thought like, okay, fly ball to left — because I saw him reach out a little bit for it,” Jackson said. “Then he kept getting closer to the wall, closer to the wall and I don’t have good eyesight in general, so I have no idea even if he caught the ball or not. But I saw him jump up. I saw Dansby put his hands up. I was like, yeah, third in line on the reaction.
You know, he’s a good hitter. I tip my cap. What a play by Rosario. I think that’s why he’s got the nickname Super Rosario right now.”
Brian Snitker discusses starting Tucker Davidson in Game 5 - Talking Chop
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