Spencer Strider: Braves Have to Own Loss to Phillies, Can't Blame MLB Playoff Format

Atlanta Braves ace Spencer Strider doesn't have time for the argument that MLB's playoff format is the reason his team lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Division Series.

Speaking to reporters after a 3-1 loss in Game 4 that ended the Braves' season, Strider said they "have nobody to blame but ourselves" and spoke about why the format debate is missing the point.

"The people trying to use the playoff format to make an excuse for the results they don't like are not confronting the real issue," he explained. "You're in control of your focus, your competitiveness, your energy. If having five days means you can't make the adjustment, you have nobody to blame but yourself."

MLB added an extra team per league to the playoffs starting last year. The format means the top two seeds in the American and National Leagues receive an automatic bye into the Division Series.

Under the new format, five of the eight lower-seeded teams have advanced to the Championship Series in the past two years.

The Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers, who have been the top two seeds in the NL each of the past two years, lost their first playoff series. The Baltimore Orioles, the No. 1 seed in the AL this year, were swept in the ALDS by the Texas Rangers.

Because of these results, there have been cries that the additional days off for the higher-seeded teams are causing them to struggle against opponents who won in the Wild Card round.

In a column published on Monday, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal tried to argue the five-day layoff for the top two teams in each league "might—repeat, might—be too much."

One of the examples Rosenthal cites as evidence is the Braves being shut out 3-0 by the Phillies in Game 1 of the NLDS because Atlanta wasn't shut out at home during the regular season.

Trying to use one game in any sport as hard evidence of anything is strange, but it's especially odd since the Braves seemingly had the pitching advantage on that day because Strider was starting against Philadelphia's No. 3 starter, Ranger Suárez, who had a 4.18 ERA during the regular season.

Since the argument some analysts seem to be making is about the layoff, it's worth noting Suárez had nine days off between his final appearance during the regular season (Sept. 27) and first start in the playoffs (Oct. 7).

Strider made his final regular-season start on Sept. 30 before taking the mound for Game 1. He didn't pitch badly with two runs allowed (one earned) in seven innings, but the offense couldn't score a run against seven Phillies pitchers.

Games are also managed differently in the playoffs than in the regular season. Phillies skipper Rob Thomson pulled Suárez after 3.2 innings in Game 1 even though he only allowed one hit and one walk with four strikeouts.

The Houston Astros have played in the same format as all of these other teams the past two years, but they keep winning in the playoffs despite having the extra days off between the end of the regular season and the start of the ALDS.

The argument against the format completely ignores the fact that sports, more often than not, are random and results from the regular season don't often translate to what happens in the playoffs.