Bryse Wilson spent most of the 2020 mini-season at the Atlanta Braves’ alternate site in Gwinnett, Georgia. He didn’t start a major league game until Sept. 22. Wilson threw five shutout innings, and the Braves beat the Marlins 11-1 to clinch a playoff spot. Afterward, Wilson said he never imagined being in that position.
Imagine how he felt Thursday.
Wilson became the latest rookie pitcher to deal the Dodgers a devastating loss in the National League Championship Series. He allowed one hit over six innings in the Braves’ 10-2 victory in Game 4 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
“To be able to do it against somebody who’s as well-established as Clayton Kershaw, that’s a great honor to pitch against him,” Wilson said.
At 22 years, 300 days old, Wilson became the second-youngest pitcher to throw six or more innings while allowing fewer than two hits and two runs in a postseason start.
The youngest? Michael Wacha, who used his performance in Game 4 of the 2013 NLDS as a springboard to beating the Dodgers twice in that year’s NLCS.
“Wow. That’s about all I can say,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Wilson. “Are you kidding me? That kid stepped up.”
Wilson was part of the same 2016 draft class as Ian Anderson, who threw four shutout innings in Game 2. Anderson was the Braves’ first-round draft pick that year, while Wilson was chosen in the fourth round.
When Anderson signed a below-slot contract worth $4 million, it allowed the Braves to lure Wilson from his college commitment with an above-slot signing bonus.
Four years ago, Wilson wasn’t merely contemplating whether to attend college or turn pro. He was contemplating which sport to play. Wilson played linebacker, quarterback and wide receiver for the Orange High football team in Hillsborough, North Carolina. He still sports the broad-shouldered build of a man more comfortable on a gridiron than a baseball field.
“That mentality those guys bring is good,” Snitker said. “Bryse’s kind of a flat-line guy. You don’t know where he’s at in the game. He stays focused. I’ve loved his makeup since I’ve known him. He made some adjustments over the course of the summer and the last couple times he’s been really good.”
Thursday, Wilson’s only mistake came on a center-cut fastball to Edwin Rios in the third inning. The home run temporarily gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. Atlanta got the run back the very next inning on a Marcell Ozuna home run, and the Dodgers never led again.
Wilson is the rare pitcher who makes liberal use of both a four-seam and two-seam fastball. He showed enough confidence in his secondary pitches – a curveball, changeup and slider – to throw them frequently in the first pitch of the at-bat.
The Braves needed a degree of unpredictability from Wilson after Game 3, in which starter Kyle Wright allowed seven runs in the first inning.
“I was telling Kyle that I took the exact same game plan into this game that he did,” Wilson said. “I think the biggest thing is I executed. … The next time (Wright) pitches against them, that game plan will be effective for him. It was just one of those games (in Game 3). They were finding barrels. I was glad I was able to use the game plan that he had and execute it.”As much as anything, the Braves needed Wilson’s six-inning performance to give their bullpen a breather. Snitker said he’ll have a full complement of pitchers available for a scheduled bullpen game in Game 5 Friday. Only Max Fried is unavailable. The Braves are saving him to start Game 6, if necessary, on Saturday.
Wilson’s parents, Chad and Tracey, attended Game 4 in person. They were frequent focal points of Fox’s cameras during the broadcast. His younger brother, Payton, couldn’t be there because he had a previous commitment to honor: he’s a linebacker for the North Carolina State football team.
“It’s a huge sacrifice for them,” Wilson said of his parents. “My brother’s got a game Saturday. They’re going to have to fly home and go watch that. The sacrifices they made, even more so growing up, means the absolute world to me.”
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