The Braves will host the Cardinals on Friday in a one-game playoff that will determine which of these two National League Wild Card entrants advances to the NL Division Series.
The Braves will send Kris Medlen to the mound to oppose Kyle Lohse in this win-one-or-be-done matchup. The game time will be at 5:07 p.m. ET on TBS.
This has been a completely different year for the Braves, who rolled through this season's final month to avoid the collapse they endured while going 9-19 last September. These struggles allowed the Cardinals to earn a playoff berth that seemed highly unlikely when they entered the season's final month trailing Atlanta by 9 1/2 games in the NL Wild Card standings.
One year later, Major League Baseball added a second Wild Card team in both leagues. The Wild Card teams will play a one-game playoff, which is essentially what the Braves and Cardinals would have experienced last year since they had the top two records in the NL Wild Card race.
This will mark the first time the Cardinals will see Medlen as a starting pitcher. It seems safe to say he is not the same guy when they tagged him for three earned runs in 4 2/3 relief innings this year.
Medlen has posted a 0.97 ERA in the 12 starts he has made since making the conversion from reliever to starter. The Braves have won each of the past 23 games that he has started, dating back to the 2010 season.
Lohse has gone 16-3 with a 2.86 ERA in 33 starts this year. The veteran right-hander allowed a season-high five earned runs and nine hits in just five innings on May 29 at Turner Field. That was the only start he has made against Atlanta this year.
The Braves have won five of the six games played against the Cardinals this season.
----- Source: MLB.com
Kris Medlen
- Photo2 by Tim Evearitt