ATLANTA — Game 3 of the National League Wild Card Series between the Phillies and Braves will take place under the lights at Truist Park.
The do-or-die matchup, which had been tentatively scheduled for 2 p.m., will be flexed to 8 p.m. Eastern on Thursday. It will be the lone playoff game of the day, as the three other best-of-three Wild Card Series sets ended in two-game sweeps. The White Sox beat the Astros and the Yankees defeated the Red Sox on the American League side, while the Padres downed the Cubs in the other NL series.
After two day games, the Phillies and Braves will settle their series with a primetime game that will air on NBC and Peacock. Neither team has announced a starting pitcher. Atlanta will likely use right-hander Grant Holmes at some point, but the club could use an opener. The Phillies have Aaron Nola available on regular rest, and ace Zack Wheeler could throw on three days’ rest. It would not be a surprise if they both played a part.
“We’ll talk about it,” interim manager Don Mattingly said. “Obviously it’s another elimination game. I think three out of the last four have been elimination games, so I’m assuming it’ll be pretty much all hands on deck. We’ll talk about where we’re going to go with it.”
The winner will move on to face the Dodgers, the two-time defending World Series champions and the No. 2 seed in the NL. It could be a rematch of last year’s NL Division Series, in which the Phillies fell in a devastating Game 4 in Los Angeles. But before they can worry about that, they will need to take care of Game 3 of the Wild Card Series and keep their place in the postseason.
So far, Philadelphia and Atlanta have each taken a dramatic, late-game victory. Braves manager Walt Weiss expects another back-and-forth game on Thursday night.
“This is usually what it looks like when these two teams play,” Weiss said. “So yeah, that’s what’ll happen tomorrow. We’ll come out and we’ll be ready.”
GeoProf
October 1, 2026 at 12:36 pm
My lineup against Braves Bullpen:
Turner SS
Schwarber DH
Bohm 3B
Harper 1B
Hill RF
Stott 2B
Realmuto C
Marsh LF
Crawford CF
ken bland
October 1, 2026 at 4:03 pm
The theme of just get in that is so widespread this week applies tonight to the tune of just get to Los Angeles. So I’m not getting picky about this, but I would love to not see Wheeler tonight
I can live with him pitching on 3 days rest, even though he has scarcely done that, but if he could be saved for a potential Saturday match with LA, I’d feel a lot better.
Over under on Nola’s distance carries a line of 11 hitters, so if that holds my wish would figure to fall way short. Tough assignment tonight. But guess what…the Braves have a tough assignment as well
berksbaseball
October 2, 2026 at 8:29 am
Didn’t matter who pitched. We were going to score 1 or 2 runs and lose. The DNA of this group needs to change drastically. New POPO, New Manager, New Shortstop, 6 new guys in the Bullpen, and 2 new outfielders
Fred
October 2, 2026 at 11:19 am
Yes, I agree, Berks.
I’m thinking that now is the time to trade Alec Bohm. His Game 2 performance has no doubt increased his value. Time to see what can be gotten for him. The Phils need to get younger. They’re just too old at this point. Even Alec will be 31 next year and he’s one of the younger players on this team.
Fred
October 2, 2026 at 11:52 am
The whole thing is a real Chinese puzzle.
Luis Arraez is a badly needed sparkplug in the line-up. But if you keep him, then I think Bryson Stott has to go. As a second baseman, Stott is very good and his numbers compare favorably to other second basemen around the league. The problem comes from having him at third base. His numbers are not good enough for that position.
So, if the Phils trade Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott, who plays third base? Are we back to the bad old years of rent-a-third baseman? It was so nice to have Alec stabilize that position, finally, after decades of it being a no man’s land.