Questions surround closers in Giants-Braves division series

His general manager talked about his short memory. His manager glowed about his toughness. His teammates marveled at his ability to frame his failures in proper perspective.

But on Saturday, Brian Wilson didn’t act like a pitcher who had put his blown save from the previous night behind him.

“What’s up, guys?” the San Francisco Giants’ closer said, avoiding eye contact and walking away briskly from his locker to a back room in the visiting clubhouse at Turner Field.

Approached again later, Wilson again declined to speak.

“I’m on my way out, guys,” he said.

Wilson’s routine was similar to Jonathan Broxton’s in the aftermath of his traumatic late-inning experiences in recent postseasons: offer some cliches after the game, then refuse to revisit the subject the next day.

Giants personnel described Wilson as having the mentality of a quintessential closer and pointed to his league-leading 48 saves, but the reality is that in one career postseason appearance, he has one blown save.

That blown save sends the Giants into Game 3 of the National League division series against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday at Turner Field in a 1-1 tie.

But at least Wilson will get a chance to pitch again in the series.

Braves closer Billy Wagner has a strained side muscle that is likely to sideline him for the remainder of the NLDS and, perhaps, the remainder of the postseason.

The Giants and Braves ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in bullpen earned-run average in the majors, respectively, but, suddenly, the back end of the units are under question.

Wagner’s injury is severe enough that the Braves are thinking of putting him on the disabled list, a move that would result in him being ineligible for the NL championship series even if his team gets there. Wagner, who will retire at the end of the season, said his goal was to return by the World Series.

Braves Manager Bobby Cox said Wagner’s fate would be determined Sunday.

If Wagner is sent to the disabled list, his place probably will be taken by former Dodgers closer Takashi Saito, who was excluded from the NLDS roster because of a shoulder problem.

Saito pitched an inning in the instructional league in Florida on Saturday.

Cox said the Braves could withstand the loss of Wagner because of the depth of their bullpen, which pitched seven scoreless innings in their come-from-behind victory in Game 2.

“We’ll mix and match in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings,” Cox said, pointing to Peter Moylan, Kyle Farnsworth, Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel as potential closers.

Kimbrel, a hard-throwing 22-year-old rookie who posted a 0.44 ERA in 21 regular-season appearances, appears to be the most intriguing of the options.

“With the way Kimbrel’s been throwing, we have a guy who can be as dominant as Wags,” Braves starter Tim Hudson said.

On the opposite side, the Giants were equally confident that their All-Star closer would be able to forget what happened in Game 2.

Wilson entered the game in the eighth inning with no outs and men on the corners. One run scored on a throwing error by Pablo Sandoval and two more scored to tie the score, 4-4, on a double by Alex Gonzalez.

The Braves won the game in the 11th inning on a home run by Rick Ankiel.

“With Willie, he’s such a tough kid that I don’t ever get concerned with him,” Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said. “He knows how to wash off those tough outings.”

To make his point, Bochy pointed to how Wilson responded once the score was tied.

He retired the next two batters to get out of the inning. He pitched a perfect ninth.

“Really, once he tied the game, he showed what he was about,” Bochy said.

Setup man Sergio Romo, who gave up back-to-back singles to start the eighth inning and forced Wilson into the game early, said he had no doubt Wilson would recover.

“Wilson’s one of the most competitive people I’ve ever met,” Romo said. “I expect him to show up. I guarantee you he’ll be more fired up the next time he’s called.”

Romo said that would be important, not only for Wilson’s psyche, but for the entire bullpen’s psyche because the other relievers draw strength from him.

“He’s the natural leader,” Romo said. “You follow his lead. I become a fan when he goes out to pitch. His demeanor is just, ‘You’re not going to beat me.’ The guy firmly believes it.”

dylan.hernandez@latimes.com