Atlanta and Philadelphia have pushed their National League Wild Card Series to the one game neither clubhouse can ease into: Thursday’s Game 3, with the season ending for one side before the night is over. The Braves answered a Game 1 comeback loss with their own 4-3 extra-inning escape in Game 2, when Alec Bohm’s homer supplied the decisive swing for Philadelphia. Now the NL East rivals meet once more, with a Dodgers rematch in the NLDS awaiting the Phillies and Atlanta chasing its first Division Series berth since 2023.
“Just win a game,” Bohm said after Game 2. He noted that there is little time to savor an October win when another elimination game arrives the next day. Philadelphia’s task, he said, is to reset and arrive ready to repeat the effort.
Game 3 is scheduled for Thursday on NBC and Peacock. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. ET unless this becomes the last Wild Card Series still in progress, in which case it would move to 8 p.m. ET. Universo will carry Spanish-language television coverage, with Spanish audio available on Univision Radio. ESPN Radio will have the national broadcast.
Pitching plans remain flexible
The Phillies entered the final game still working through their pitching decision. Interim manager Don Mattingly had indicated that Aaron Nola was lined up to start, though a winner-take-all setting leaves room for a change. Zack Wheeler is a candidate to take the ball on short rest, and even if Nola starts, Wheeler figures to be an option out of the bullpen.
Philadelphia can also call on left-hander Jesús Luzardo, the Game 1 starter, and Andrew Painter, who covered three relief innings in Game 2. Cristopher Sánchez, after starting the second game, is the principal exception among pitchers likely to be available. Mattingly described the approach as every available arm being in play, while adding that closer Jhoan Duran, unavailable in Game 2, was hoped to be ready for Thursday.
Atlanta expects Grant Holmes to cover the bulk of the work, but has not committed to whether he will receive the first pitch or follow an opener. Left-handers Ray Kerr and Brent Suter are the leading possibilities if the Braves choose an opener, a decision that would immediately put Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber in their sights.
Manager Walt Weiss should have closer Raisel Iglesias and setup relievers Didier Fuentes and Dylan Lee despite each having appeared during the first two games. Robert Suarez is another intriguing late-inning possibility. He has not pitched in the series after missing three months because of an elbow issue, though he made two appearances last week. Before the injury interrupted his June, Suarez had posted a 0.56 ERA across 31 outings.
The lineup questions and the bats to watch
Philadelphia’s lineup may depend on Edmundo Sosa’s right leg. Sosa left Game 2 injured and said afterward that he felt improved, but his status remained unsettled. If he cannot go, Harper would likely return to first base, with Derek Hill taking right field. That alignment would put Trea Turner at shortstop, followed by Schwarber at designated hitter, Harper, Bohm at third, Bryson Stott at second, Hill, Brandon Marsh in left, J.T. Realmuto behind the plate and Justin Crawford in center.
The Braves match up more comfortably against right-handed pitching, and Mike Yastrzemski could enter the picture in left field. That would shift Mauricio Dubón to shortstop after Ha-Seong Kim started there in each of the opening two games. Atlanta’s potential order has Drake Baldwin at DH, Ronald Acuña Jr. in right, Matt Olson at first, Michael Harris II in center, Dubón, Ozzie Albies at second, Austin Riley at third, Yastrzemski and catcher Sean Murphy.
Philadelphia will be watching to see whether its eighth-inning power surge in Game 2 carries over. Schwarber and Harper went deep back-to-back, and both have a history of turning one long ball into a run of them. Bohm is 3-for-8 in the series with a double and a homer, while Realmuto, after a difficult regular season, has produced two hits and two RBIs.
For Atlanta, Harris has gone 4-for-8 and Dubón is 3-for-9 through two games. Acuña is still looking for his first hit after six at-bats. Riley’s Game 1 blast remains the Braves’ lone home run of the series, but it was the swing that delivered Atlanta’s opening-game victory.
The broader injury picture reaches beyond Thursday. Phillies infielder Luis Arraez was left off the Wild Card roster after severely spraining his left ankle last week. Atlanta could have outfielder Lane Thomas available if it reaches the NLDS, while pitchers Bryce Elder, recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, Reynaldo López, dealing with right shoulder inflammation, and Martín Pérez, sidelined by lower back discomfort, could also become possibilities in later rounds.
Philadelphia brings a difficult history into this kind of game. The franchise is 1-3 in postseason contests where a loss ends the year, with its lone victory coming in Game 5 of the 1980 NLCS. The other three ended in defeats: Game 5 of the 1981 NLDS, Game 5 of the 2011 NLDS and Game 7 of the 2023 NLCS. Thursday offers another chapter, and Atlanta has the same simple assignment: win one game, then keep playing.
