Anderson leads Braves into NL Division Series

If Ian Anderson was nervous about making his postseason debut, it didn’t show Thursday afternoon.

Atlanta's third-ranked prospect, who had just six big league appearances under his belt, allowed just two hits and two walks and struck out nine batters over six frames as the Braves blanked the Reds, 5-0, to advance to the National League Division Series.

"It was special to be a part of," Anderson told reporters after the game. "It kind of felt like my (big league) debut, in a way. I had some adrenaline in the first inning, for sure."

No. 34 overall prospect Ian Anderson ties a #Braves franchise mark with 9 K's in his postseason debut as the club advances to the NLDS!

➡️ https://t.co/dNOK7QlCrh pic.twitter.com/GUg6FyeSkr

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) October 1, 2020

It was Atlanta’s first playoff series victory since 2001. The Braves, who had lost their last 10 postseason series, will face the winner of the Cubs-Marlins series when the NLDS begins Tuesday in Houston.

The No. 34 overall prospect yielded a leadoff single to Eugenio Suárez and walks to Jesse Winker and Freddy Galvis in the second, and a single by Galvis in the fifth in the 99-pitch gem. No Reds player reached third base, and Anderson's nine Ks tied the Atlanta record for a pitcher's postseason debut that was set by Steve Avery in Game 2 of the 1991 NLCS.

"That’s kind of been my thing this year, I guess so far, I have one inning where I really have to battle and grind through it," Anderson said of the second frame. "Just the confidence you get from that kind of propels you through the rest of the outing."

The Braves also set a record by shutting out Cincinnati for all 22 innings of the two-game sweep, surpassing the 1921 Giants (20 innings) for the most consecutive scoreless innings to begin a postseason series.

The third overall pick in 2016 out of an upstate New York high school, Anderson began the season at the Braves’ alternate training site in Gwinnett and did not make his Major League debut until Aug. 26. In that game, the right-hander held the visiting Yankees to one run on one hit -- a homer by Luke Voit -- over six innings, and Anderson continued to roll into September as the Braves wrapped up the NL East title. He finished the regular season 3-2 with a 1.95 ERA and 41 strikeouts over 32 1/3 innings.

During the spring, the 22-year-old said he thought might be able to contribute to the team, but he wasn't expecting to have to fill in for the likes of Cole Hamels and Mike Soroka. But his strong late outings gave Anderson the Game 2 start after Cy Young Award candidate Max Fried won the opener.

"I thought there was a chance I could be up here and making an impact," he said. "I didn’t think it was going to happen this way unfortunately ... with all the injuries and stuff. It’s rewarding to kind of see how it’s kind of paid off so far. ... This is why you play."

Anderson relied on his potent three-pitch mix against the Reds, using his four-seam fastball (average velocity: 94.5 mph) almost half the time and splitting the other half between his curveball and changeup. He generated 15 swings-and-misses, eight of them on the changeup.

"His demeanor is so, so even-keeled all the time," Braves backstop Travis d'Arnaud told reporters. "I know I didn’t have to worry about him. What I’ve seen throughout the regular year, he continued it today. He had his fastball command, he had his curveball command and his changeup command. He was able to mix up all three of those for the first pitch and even make some fun sequences to get the Reds team off balance. He was able to execute really well."

Top Braves prospect Cristian Pache was a late-game defensive replacement in right field and did not appear at the plate.

In other action:

Padres 11, Cardinals 9

Top St. Louis prospect Dylan Carlson went 0-for-2, but walked twice and got hit by a pitch. He has reached base safely seven times in the last two games. The 21-year-old made postseason history for St. Louis on Wednesday in his playoff debut. No. 14 Kodi Whitley gave up an earned run in one-third of an inning. After Tyler Webb surrendered a single in the eighth, Whitley came in to face Wil Myers and gave up a two-run homer before retiring Austin Nola on a groundout to end the frame. Box score