The Braves Are Turning to Tyler Mahle With Their Season on the Line

The Atlanta Braves heard plenty of criticism when they acquired Tyler Mahle in August. Atlanta needed a playoff-caliber starter, and to the critics’ credit, Mahle didn't look like one at the time.

Now, with the season hanging in the balance, Mahle has the chance to silence that criticism in the biggest game of his career.

After riding high from stealing Game 2 in LA, a demoralizing Game 3 loss on Tuesday has Atlanta up against the wall. With one more defeat meaning elimination, the Braves now turn to Mahle looking to force a deciding Game 5 back at Dodger Stadium.

Mahle doesn't seem particularly interested in treating the moment as something unfamiliar.

"All of those other starts in September against the Phillies, they were big games," Mahle told reporters, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman. "I'm sure it's going to feel very similar to that."

That confidence makes more sense when looking at what Mahle has done since arriving in Atlanta.

He owned a 5.13 ERA in 18 starts with the Giants before the Braves acquired him Aug. 2. Over nine regular-season starts with Atlanta, that number dropped to 1.99, and he followed it with a seven-inning, one-run performance against the Phillies in the Wild Card Series.

Even Walt Weiss admitted the Braves didn't expect that kind of turnaround.

"We could never have anticipated he would be this good," Weiss said, via Bowman. "But he has been, and it's changed our rotation, really."

The change wasn't entirely accidental. Atlanta believed Mahle could benefit from adjusting his pitch mix, and he had already started making those changes before the trade. After returning from the injured list, he reduced his cutter usage and leaned more heavily on his splitter.

The results became difficult to ignore.

Mahle allowed one earned run over 13 innings across two September starts against Philadelphia before carrying that success into the postseason. He'll now face the Dodgers, a team he already knows he can handle.

While still with San Francisco, Mahle threw seven scoreless innings against Los Angeles on April 22 in a 3-0 Giants victory. It remains his only appearance against the Dodgers this season.

The Dodgers also know exactly what they're getting.

According to Sports Illustrated's Harrison Smajovits, Freddie Freeman explained after Game 2 that Mahle's approach is built around his fastball at the top of the zone and his splitter underneath it.

Mahle isn't pretending there will be any mystery Wednesday.

"Just making pitches," Mahle said, via Smajovits. "That's all you can do out there is make pitches. I'm not trying to trick them. They know. They've seen me."

That may be the simplest way to frame what comes next.

The Braves made the move for Mahle because they believed he could help them in October. Two months later, he's been handed their most important start of the season.

Austin Riley believes he's ready for it.

"I think he'll be up for the moment," he told reporters, via Bowman.

Now Mahle gets the chance to prove it.