The Atlanta Braves received some rough news regarding one of their key pieces of the bullpen.
The Atlanta Braves nearly overcame a 7-1 deficit in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies, but fell 7-6. There is still time for the Braves to turn things around in the best-of-five series, but they just received some brutal news regarding a key piece to their bullpen.
On Wednesay, Braves manager Brian Snikter revealed that relief pitcher Tyler Matzek is set to undergo Tommy John surgery. The injury occurred towards the end of the season, where he experienced discomfort in his elbow.
Snitker’s comments can be listened to in Bally Sports: Braves’ tweet below:
Braves will be without 2021 postseason hero Tyler Matzek
“I hate it for him,” said Snitker. “He’s struggled with things all year, I don’t know maybe this is the reason. I think him going ahead and getting it done and starting the process. I think he feels really good about that. Now he can look forward, not look forward to it, to go through his rehab.
“On the back end of that, he’s still a young man and have a really good career, as we’ve seen what he can do. I hate it for him that he can’t experience this again. But talking to him when he left to go for the examination, he was in a good place. I think he felt good about his future and going ahead and taking care of this.”
Matzek last pitched in the team’s regular-season finale against the Miami Marlins, where he surrendered two earned runs on two hits in two innings in the team’s 12-9 loss.
Of course, Matzek played a pivotal role in Atlanta winning the World Series title last year, their first since 1995. In Game 6 of the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Matzek entered the seventh inning in relief of Luke Jackson, with A.J. Pollock and Cody Bellinger on second and third base, respectively, with no outs on the board. He then proceeded to strikeout Albert Pujols, Steven Souza Jr., and Mookie Betts in succession to get out of the jam and secure the team’s 4-2 lead.
Atlanta went on to win the game 4-2 to win their first NL pennant since 1999.
This season, Matzek had recorded a 3.50 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, 36 strikeouts, and 29 walks in 43.2 innings (42 games).
