Braves go for sweep in Houston behind Martin Perez

After the offense brought out some power to secure a series win Saturday and the Phillies struggling a bit, the Braves have a chance to secure the division title with a win or a Phillies’ loss on Sunday. Martin Perez will take the mound for Atlanta, with Hunter Brown his counterpart for Houston.

Perez continues to be a functional innings-eater this season, with a spectacular (and lucky) ERA of 3.07. At this point his job is pretty much done for the season, though he will likely make one more start after this one. The goal at this point is to prevent the Braves from nuking their bullpen heading into the playoffs. It seems extraordinarily unlikely that Perez would be called upon to make a start in the playoffs, though not impossible, given the massive questions around the Braves’ rotation behind Chris Sale and Tyler Mahle. For Martin, give the team 5-6 innings today and if you win it’s a bonus.

Hunter Brown is a tough customer on the other side, as a strong 2/3 starter for years now. He’s got strong strikeout and ground ball rates, but his walked have jumped this season up to 4.55 batters per 9 innings, lowering his overall effectiveness. Brown makes it work off the back of his fastball, featuring mid/upper 90s velocity, high-end extension, and a high release point that gives his four-seamer and sinker exceptional rise. Those two pitches consist of 60% of his mix with the knuckle curveball as his preferred secondary and a slider and changeup mixed in. Brown has really good stuff and the Braves will likely have to beat him by being patient. If they let Brown get some easy outs and keep his pitch-count low, it could be a long night for Atlanta.

Game Date/Time: Sunday, September 20, 2:10 p.m. ET

Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX

TV: BravesVision

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan, Los Bravos