October is here! And what better way to kick off the best month of baseball than with a winner-take-all Game 3 between the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies in the NL Wild Card?
Both team’s have already announced their starters for the game, as Philadelphia is going with Aaron Nola, and the Braves are rolling with Ray Kerr, who is expected to precede Grant Holmes.
A few hours before first pitch, the Braves revealed their lineup, which features an Austin Riley bump down in the order.
Riley has perhaps had the biggest moment of the series thus far, with a go-ahead 3-run homer on Tuesday afternoon.
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Austin Riley Batting 7th for Phillies Game on Thursday
On Wednesday afternoon, with the Phillies throwing Chris Sanchez, Austin Riley batted 6th.
Well, manager Walt Weiss has opted to place Austin Riley in the 7-hole on Thursday.
Here is the full batting order for the Braves on 10/, courtesy of @UnderdogMLB:
Braves 10/1: “D. Baldwin C R. Acuña Jr. RF M. Olson 1B M. Harris II CF M. Dubón SS M. Yastrzemski LF A. Riley 3B O. Albies 2B D. Smith DH R. Kerr SP”
D. Baldwin C R. Acuña Jr. RF M. Olson 1B M. Harris II CF M. Dubón SS M. Yastrzemski LF A. Riley 3B O. Albies 2B D. Smith DH
R. Kerr SP
A few lineup notes for the Braves: Ozzie Albies is batting 8th, Dom Smith is in the order batting ninth, and Mike Yastrzemski, who has really good numbers against Aaron Nola, is hitting sixth and playing LF.
Drake Baldwin will form a battery with Ray Kerr to start, and likely remain in the game when Grant Holmes comes in to pitch.
As for Austin Riley’s place in the batting order, he has steadily been the Braves’ 7th hitter all season, so it shouldn’t affect his approach much.
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More Info on Phillies-Braves WC Game 3
The winner of the Phillies-Braves game on Thursday will go on to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS.
First pitch is at 8:15 p.m. EST at Truist Park, and the game can be viewed on NBC and is being nationally streamed on Peacock.
The Braves and Phillies are extremely familiar with each other, which makes this such an exciting win-or-go-home contest.
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