The National League Wild Card Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves at Truist Park is tied 1-1.
Game 3 is scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday. The winner will play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series, which will start on Saturday.
The Phillies have reportedly revealed their starting pitcher for tonight’s game against the Braves.
Philadelphia Phillies Reveal Wild Card Series Game 3 Starting Pitcher vs. Atlanta Braves
Veteran right-hander Aaron Nola will reportedly start for Philadelphia on Thursday night.
NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury wrote on X: Hearing Phillies will start Aaron Nola tonight vs. Braves opener Ray Kerr, a lefty. Always subject to change but that’s the plan as of this AM.
It’s currently unclear who will start for the Braves tonight. This post will be updated once Atlanta reveals its starting pitcher.
Looking at Aaron Nola
Nola, 33, posted a 4.67 ERA with 177 strikeouts in 175 1/3 innings across an NL-leading 33 starts this year.
Those aren’t amazing numbers, but it’s much better than his 6.07 ERA in 17 starts from last season.
Nola has 12 years of big-league experience, all with the Phillies.
Since making his MLB debut in 2015, Nola has been worth 38.6 bWAR with a 3.91 ERA and 2,053 strikeouts over 1,891 innings.
Nola has made 11 postseason starts throughout his career.
He has a career .88 ERA with 61 strikeouts over 55 2/3 playoff innings.
Phillies-Braves Wild Card Series is Already a Classic
The first two games of the Wild Card Series between Atlanta and Philadelphia were absolutely nuts. Game 3 has a lot to live up to.
In Game 1, the Phillies carried a 3-2 lead into the eighth inning. With two outs and two runners on, Braves third baseman Austin Riley hit a three-run home run off star reliever Jhoan Duran to give Atlanta a 5-3 lead, which ended up as the final score.
In Game 2, Bryce Harper misplayed a fly ball in left field in the seventh inning, allowing the Braves to score and go up 2-1. Another run scored in the inning on a sacrifice fly from Matt Olson, putting the Braves up 3-1.
Then, Kyle Schwarber and Harper hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning to tie the game. Alec Bohm hit a go-ahead home run in the tenth inning, and the Phillies won 4-3.
Philadelphia Phillies Announce Wild Card Series Game 3 Starting Pitcher vs. Braves