The Phillies are heading into their Wild Card Round matchup with the Braves knowing exactly how tough this assignment is going to be. Philadelphia dropped nine of 13 meetings with Atlanta in the regular season, and now the question is whether the postseason can produce a different result.
If the Phillies are going to get through, they’ll need contributions from all over the roster. A few names stand out as especially important, starting with the arms and matchup bats that could swing the series.
Philadelphia’s bullpen has been a problem, so interim manager Don Mattingly is expected to lean on it as little as possible. One reliever who has earned some trust is Alex McFarlane.
The rookie brings heat, and he’ll be asked to handle important innings in this series. His first crack at a high-pressure spot didn’t go smoothly, when he allowed a game-tying three-run homer to Ronald Acuna Jr.
He recovered from that outing, pitched better down the stretch, and now figures to help form the bridge to closer Jhoan Duran.
Another player who could matter in a big way is Edmundo Sosa. When Luis Arraez left the team’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers last week, Sosa stepped in, and he’ll be expected to keep producing in this series whether he’s at third base or in the outfield.
Losing him from the bench also takes away some of the late-game flexibility Mattingly likes to have, but Sosa has a history of delivering in key moments. Philadelphia will need that again.
The Phillies’ issues against left-handed pitching have shaped the way Mattingly is lining up his team, and that approach is carrying into the postseason. Derek Hill and Bryan De La Cruz are in the outfield alongside Bryce Harper, while Brandon Marsh and Justin Crawford are available off the bench, just as they have been for much of the season against southpaws.
Even if Hill and De La Cruz aren’t in the lineup every day, they still loom large in the plan. If they hit, it gives Philadelphia a much better chance.
Game 2 brings another huge spot, and it belongs to Cristopher Sanchez. He is the only piece of the pitching plan that is locked in, with the Phillies set to start him in that game and sort out the rest as they go.
That’s the kind of assignment that can either keep a season alive or send a team into the Division Series. Sanchez hasn’t been at his sharpest in some recent outings, but Philadelphia still has complete faith in him when the pressure is at its highest.
And then there’s Bryce Harper, who remains the center of everything Philadelphia wants to do offensively. The Phillies’ run production has been uneven all season.
They looked strong in August, then faded in September, and that slump played a major role in their fight to reach the postseason. Harper has still been their most reliable source of offense, and he has adjusted his approach at the plate while drawing an NL-high 107 walks.
Getting on base matters, but the Phillies need more than that from him now. They need him to drive the ball, carry the lineup, and keep the offense moving if they want to survive the Braves.
In Other News...
Braves Enter Do Or Die Game 3 With One Huge Pitching Problem
The Braves head into a must-win Game 3 against a division rival with the kind of pitching uncertainty teams try to avoid in October. Philadelphia is expected to counter with Zack Wheeler, which only sharpens the pressure on Atlanta to piece together a workable plan on the mound. Grant Holmes and Ray Kerr are expected to be central to that approach, but the larger issue is simpler and more unsettling: there is no obvious traditional starter waiting to take the ball.
Tyler Mahle gave Atlanta a strong outing in Game 2 and has been one of the brighter signs recently, but even that was not enough to change the result. The Braves lost anyway, undone by a quiet night for the lineups power and a bullpen that could not hold the edge. Now the series has reached the point where every pitching decision matters, and Atlanta still has to answer the biggest question of all before the first pitch is thrown. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Just Got A Real Opening In Winner-Take-All Game 3
The Phillies have handed Aaron Nola the ball for their winner-take-all Game 3 against the Braves, a choice that immediately changes the feel of this Wild Card finale. Atlanta now gets a different look than many expected, with Philadelphia going with the veteran right-hander instead of Zack Wheeler, whose strong season made him the more obvious option on paper.
For the Braves, the opening is in the matchup itself as much as the name on the lineup card. Nola has been uneven this season, but his history of success against Atlanta in past postseason moments gives the Phillies a reason to trust him, even if the move has sparked some second-guessing about leaving Wheeler out of the biggest start of the year. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Waste A Start That Should Have Changed This Series
Tyler Mahles first postseason start gave the Braves exactly the kind of pitching backbone they needed in a tense Wild Card Game 2 against the Phillies. After a shaky beginning, he settled in and worked effectively through seven innings, keeping Philadelphia in check and striking out several key batters along the way. For a team trying to swing the series back in its favor, it was the sort of outing that should have set up a much different night.
Instead, Atlanta kept leaving chances on the table. The Braves had multiple opportunities to break through, including a bases-loaded situation in the sixth inning, but could not fully cash in when the game was there to be taken. With the pitching doing its part and the offense unable to finish the job, it became one of those postseason losses that felt bigger than the final score. [Read more 🡒]