Braves have edge in bullpen over Marlins

Braves reliever Will Smith talks about the upcoming series with the Miami Marlins

The Atlanta Braves just shut out the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card Series. The next opponent, the Miami Marlins, did pretty well themselves allowing only one run in two games to the Chicago Cubs.

The one area the Braves have a clear advantage over the Marlins is the bullpen, as Atlanta's relievers have gotten even better as the season has gone along.

Atlanta's relievers posted a combined earned run average of 3.31, second-best in the National League. The Marlins had a bullpen ERA of 5.50, the third-worst (13th-best) in the National League.

Miami's rotation is obviously better statistically than what the Braves had for 60 regular season games. The Marlins' rotation was 8th-best in the NL with a 4.31 mark, while Atlanta's starting pitchers posted the worst ERA in the NL at 5.51.

Atlanta's bullpen was tremendous against the Marlins in the 10 games the two teams played this season. It had a combined ERA of 2.27, as the Braves relievers allowed 13 earned runs on 46 hits in 51.2 innings, with 18 walks and 48 strikeouts.

Five Atlanta relievers - Jacob Webb, Mark Melancon, Chris Martin, Darren O'Day and Tyler Matzek - did not allow an earned run against the Marlins in 2020. 

The Braves gave up 35 earned runs on 88 hits in 90.0 innings against the Marlins in 2020. They allowed 10 home runs, walked 37 and struck out 87. The Atlanta rotation allowed 22 earned runs on 42 hits in 38.1 innings for an ERA of 5.17.

For more coverage of the Braves in the NLDS, listen to The Bill Shanks Show on SportsRadio 93-1 WXKO TheSuperStations.com. Bill will be on Monday at 3:00 p.m. ET and also after every Braves game in the playoffs.