Mike Yastrzemski's cold streak has come at the worst time for Braves and SF Giants fans

The Atlanta Braves have their backs against the wall as they take on the Los Angeles Dodgers Wednesday night knowing their season could be over with a loss. Former SF Giants pitcher Tyler Mahle will take the mound looking to avoid that, but another former Giant has gotten cold at the worst time.

Mike Yastrzemski is getting only the second playoff experience of his career and it's not going well. He made the playoffs once when he was with the Giants back in 2021 and ironically enough he faced the Dodgers in the NLDS that year as well. 

We don’t need to revisit how that series ended other than by cursing umpire Gabe Morales, but Yastrzemski’s playoff numbers have not been great so far in his career. He has only one hit in 24 playoff at-bats and he’s been ice cold for Atlanta as of late.

The one hit actually came in his first at-bat with Atlanta during the Wild Card series this postseason and it was a big one as he drove in a run which helped the Braves take Game 1 against the Philadelphia Phillies but since then he has gone 0-for-10 with four strikeouts.

He hasn’t even started a game for Atlanta in the NLDS as he’s only been used as a pinch hitter. The way the Braves are handling him is quite similar to the way the New York Yankees are icing out Heliot Ramos who has also struggled in limited opportunities during the playoffs.

Yastrzemski will at least get the start on Wednesday night against right-handed Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow. He will bat sixth and play in left field.

Mike Yastrzemski can still be a playoff hero for the Braves

There’s still time for Yaz to turn things around and make an impact, though. Maybe he gets a big hit tonight that keeps Atlanta’s season alive. That would be pretty special and would warm the hearts of the Giants fans who took a liking to Yastrzemski when he played for San Francisco.

From Atlanta’s perspective though, they may be slightly regretting the two-year, $23 million deal they gave Yastrzemski. He hit just .224/.309/.380 with 12 homers and 41 runs batted in during the regular season which is certainly not what they were hoping for. He had the least productive season of his career.

Still, the playoffs can make a bad signing look like a brilliant one in a hurry. Just ask Barry Zito. Yaz may be cold but if he can come up big and help the Braves beat the Dodgers then fans in Atlanta and San Francisco will be very happy. 

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