This is 2022 happening all over again. Deja vu? The Braves just got bounced from the NLDS by the Phillies in a demoralizing Game 4 loss at Citizens Bank Park.
This was history repeating itself over and over, starting with manager Brian Snitker's questionable decisions. There have been quite a few.
In earlier games, it was his choice to start Bryce Elder and keep him in through the third inning. On Thursday, it was Snitker's ever-curious ninth-inning pinch-hitting decisions.
In the waning moments of the game, down 3-1 and with one out in the ninth, Snitker sent Eddie Rosario to pinch-hit for Forrest Wall; Rosario would hit a fly ball on the first pitch and record the second out.
Then, Snitker sent Vaughn Grissom to pinch-hit for Nicky Lopez with the season on the line. Grissom would strike out swinging, and the Phillies would knock out Atlanta for the second-consecutive season.
Really? Grissom? That's who you pick to end yet another 100-win season?
Braves manager Brian Snitker got totally outclassed by Rob Thomson in Game 4 elimination
To be fair, for the Braves to take Game 4 at Citizens Bank Park was already a tall order. Not too tall for a team that scored 947 runs in the regular season, but based on recent experience, that stadium has become the ultimate playoff gauntlet for visiting teams. No one knows why, it just is.
The Phillies are now 26-11 at home and have the best home postseason winning percentage in MLB history. They can thank Snitker for mismanaging past NLDS games and making those questionable pinch-hitting decisions on Thursday night.
For deflated Braves fans, they'll have this lasting memory: the Braves really and truly had Pillar, Rosario, and Grissom at the plate as the final three hitters in an elimination game. Let that sink in. And then, direct all your anger at Brian Snitker.
