Ian Anderson is a major reason why the Atlanta Braves have a perfect record of four wins and zero losses to begin the 2020 Major League Baseball playoffs. The rookie righthander from Rexford, New York, has been outstanding on the mound as he has a pair of victories, with an earned run average of 0.00 and a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 0.73.
Anderson made his postseason debut on October 1 in a 5-0 Braves win over the Cincinnati Reds in game two of the National League Wildcard Series. He gave up only two hits and two walks in six scoreless innings to go along with nine strikeouts. Then Anderson followed Max Fried in the National League Divisional Series, just like he did in the series against the Cincinnati Reds. In five and two thirds innings on Wednesday, Anderson only gave up three hits and one walk, to go along with eight strikeouts in a 2-0 Atlanta win over the Miami Marlins. With the win, the Braves now lead the best out of five series two games to none.
Anderson only becomes the sixth pitcher in Major League Baseball history to have a minimum of five scoreless innings in his first two playoff starts. He follows Christy Mathewson of Factoryville, Pennsylvania (1905 with the New York Giants), Joe Niekro of Martins Ferry, Ohio (1980 and 1981 with the Houston Astros), Steve Avery of Trenton, Michigan (1991 with the Atlanta Braves), Corey Kluber of Birmingham, Alabama (2016 with the Cleveland Indians), and Jhoulys Chacin of Maracaibo, Venezuela (2018 with the Milwaukee Brewers).
During the regular season, Anderson was also brilliant. He only posted a record of three wins and two losses, but had an excellent earned run average of 1.95 in 32 1/3 innings. The Braves look poised of making the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Los Angeles is currently leading the San Diego Padres two games to none in the other National League Divisional Series.
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