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Braves finish 90-72, await NL West winner in postseason

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez (19) throws in the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)

PHILADELPHIA — It was evident within the first half hour of play that the Braves probably wouldn’t open the National League Division Series at home.

They fell behind the Phillies 2-0 in the first inning, while the Dodgers and Rockies built two-run leads of their own in the same time. The Braves needed a win, along with losses by both those competitors Sunday, to obtain home-field advantage.

Ultimately, the Braves lost 3-1 and finished their 2018 season with a 90-72 record, their best since 2013. The Rockies and Dodgers will play a tiebreaker Monday afternoon at Dodger Stadium. The winner is crowned NL West champion and hosts the Braves Thursday in a best-of-five series.

The suspense had to wait a day: The Dodgers defeated the Giants 14-0. The Rockies topped the Nationals 12-0. Both of those teams held a tie-breaker over the Braves, but neither will need it with 91 wins each.

Meanwhile in Philadelphia, manager Brian Snitker began lifting regulars down 2-1 in the fifth. Lane Adams took over right field for Nick Markakis and Ryan Flaherty assumed first for Freddie Freeman. The substitutions progressed as the Dodgers and Rockies piled on.

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Kevin Gausman wasn’t sharp early but kept the game manageable. Cesar Hernandez hit a lead-off homer and Jose Bautista singled to start the game. Carlos Santana’s sacrifice fly plated another run in the first.

He walked Bautista and Roman Quinn to begin the third, but induced consecutive pop outs and retired Odubel Herrera on a liner to third. He finished with five innings, allowing three hits and three runs (two earned) in his final tune up.

Since the Braves acquired Gausman on July 31, he produced a 2.80 in his nine starts entering Sunday. He’d held opposing hitters to a .224 average. The LSU product is set to start Game 2 or 3 of the NLDS. The latter would provide him two extra days of rest.

The Dodgers led 14-0 in the seventh. The Rockies were up 7-0 in their own seventh. Sean Newcomb appeared out of the bullpen during the Braves’ simultaneous sixth, pitching a scoreless inning.

Newcomb, along with Touki Toussant, could be on the outside looking in on the Braves’ postseason rotation. The team wanted Newcomb (and Toussaint, who pitched Saturday) to get extra work in before the NLDS. Snitker has maintained their rotation will be influenced by the opponent.

Left-hander Max Fried pitched a clean seventh as his final bid to join the remade roster. The Braves don’t have to finalize their roster until Thursday morning.

The Braves will travel to Los Angeles or Denver on Tuesday, beginning workouts that day. They’ll hold another day of workouts Wednesday before the NLDS begins.

In other postseason interests, the Cubs and Brewers will also face off Monday for the NL Central title. The two division runner-ups will play in the NL wild card game Tuesday. The winner of that game will face the Central winner, Milwaukee or Chicago, which will be rewarded the No. 1 seed.