The Braves survived the Phillies in Game 3 last night, and the result sends Philadelphia into another winter of hard questions. The loss is the club’s fourth straight postseason series defeat, and the Phillies still haven’t won a playoff round since 2023, when they beat Atlanta in the NLDS.
That backdrop leaves the organization staring at a busy offseason, with the status of interim manager Don Mattingly among the biggest issues. Mattingly stepped in for former manager Rob Thomson at the end of April, steadied the team, and helped revive the season before the Phillies faded late.
Atlanta’s path through the elimination game was unusual, and Ray Kerr was at the center of it. With limited trusted starting options, Braves manager Walt Weiss handed Kerr the ball, and the reliever did more than open the game. He worked 3 1/3 scoreless innings, giving Atlanta exactly what it needed when the margin for error disappeared.
Kerr’s journey to that spot has been anything but straightforward. He didn’t pitch in the majors last year, and he only joined the Braves in mid-August.
After his performance, Weiss made sure the moment was recognized. “Hopefully Ray Kerr became a bit of a household name tonight,” Weiss said (h/t Mark Bowman of MLB.com).
“He deserves it. He’s got an amazing story of perseverance.”
Kerr may not be done yet. He could be called on again this weekend against the Dodgers.
On the other side of the bracket, the postseason pauses today before the Division Series begins Saturday. The White Sox and Guardians open the round at noon CT, with rookie Parker Messick getting the start for Cleveland.
After that comes Braves-Dodgers, then Rays-Yankees, with Drew Rasmussen and Gerrit Cole matched up in that AL East series. The day closes with Padres-Brewers, and Jacob Misiorowski will take the ball for Milwaukee.
In Other News...
Joey Votto Made Phillies Fans Relive Game 3 All Over Again
Philadelphia fans got a reminder this week that even the most confident in-game commentary can age badly in a hurry. During Game 3 of the Phillies-Braves series, announcer Joey Votto said on air that Atlanta would not score again off Zack Wheeler, a declaration that landed with plenty of weight in the moment and even more after the game kept moving.
Soon after, the Braves broke through anyway, with Ozzie Albies delivering a two-run homer as part of the response. The sequence sent fans and media scrambling back to Vottos remark, a sharp example of how quickly a bold broadcast take can turn into instant bulletin-board material for a Phillies crowd that knows all too well how fast playoff momentum can swing. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies Exit Leaves One Brutal Question Fans Wont Shake
The Phillies season ended in Atlanta with the kind of October loss that lingers. Aaron Nola was knocked around early, Zack Wheeler came on in short rest and also gave up a two-run homer, and the Braves turned the game into a runaway by scoring six times while Philadelphia managed only two runs on six hits.
For a team that spent the year leaning on its front-line pitching, the way this Wild Card Round slipped away is hard to ignore. One starter was undone by a three-run blast before the night settled in, the other could not stop the bleeding behind him, and now the bigger question is whether this finish says more about a bad night or a deeper problem the Phillies have to confront heading into the offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies Suffer Another Brutal October Exit For One Painful Reason
The Phillies latest October run ended the same way so many recent ones have, with another abrupt exit and the familiar sting of a season slipping away in a winner-take-all game. Atlanta handled the pressure better in Game 3, pulling away for a 6-2 victory behind a steady outing from Ray Kerr and a three-homer burst from Michael Harris II, Ozzie Albies and Matt Olson.
For a Philadelphia club trying to turn the page on postseason frustration, the pain is not just that the Braves advanced to face the Dodgers in the NLDS starting Saturday. It is how decisively Atlanta delivered the knockout, leaving the Phillies once again to sort through an October finish that felt all too familiar and all too hard to ignore. [Read more 🡒]