3 Brian Snitker mistakes Braves couldn't afford vs Phillies

Kevin Pillar should have been the left fielder for the night

This mistake, in part, illustrates how impossible the circumstances were for Snitker on Wednesday night against the Phillies. Kevin Pillar is not an ideal left fielder to start in a meaningful NLDS game, but he probably should have been there over Eddie Rosario, at least for the night.

For one, Rosario has struggled against Aaron Nola, Philadelphia's chosen starting pitcher for the night, with the worst OPS of any Braves batter that faced him 10 times or more in the regular season this year. To add to that, Pillar, much like Murphy, could have been a wild card of sorts since Nola only had nine at-bats against him this year (with three hits and three strikeouts in those at-bats).

Most painful for Braves fans, though, was the lack of hustle displayed early in the game by Rosario. In the third inning, J.T. Realmuto hit a ball deep in the left center gap with the contest still close, and Rosario had a shot at it but got a slow jump and displayed an even worse acceleration toward the fly ball, allowing it to drop in for a base hit.

It wasn't necessarily an easy play, but it surely could have been a play for Atlanta. The expected batting average on the hit was .220.

Pillar's sprint speed this year has been about the same as Rosario's, but this was everything about demonstrated effort, not actual capabilities.