Source: Phillies to start Aaron Nola in Game 3 vs. Braves; Zack Wheeler expected to follow
Nola will be on full rest four days, and Wheeler is expected to be available out of the bullpen on three days’ rest.
ATLANTA — For years, the Phillies applied a pitching formula to optimize success in short postseason series.
“Wheeler, Nola, and it’s all o-vah.”
It was their twist on “Spahn, Sain, and pray for rain,” and it worked, at least in best-of-three wild-card series in 2022 and 2023. Now, facing a third elimination game in less than a week Thursday night, they will lean on their two longtime horses again.
Aaron Nola will start Game 3 here against the Braves, according to a major league source who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly because the Phillies hadn’t announced a starter. Zack Wheeler is expected to be available to follow Nola.
» READ MORE: Bryce Harper was ‘bound to have a great moment,’ hits redemption homer: ‘A pick-me-up game for me’
Nola will be on full rest, four days after starting on only two days’ rest and lasting only one inning in a desperate gambit to clinch a playoff spot last Saturday night. But the Phillies will take an “all hands on deck” approach to their pitching plan, interim manager Don Mattingly said Wednesday.
Wheeler, who would be on three days’ rest after starting the regular-season finale, is almost certainly part of that plan. It’s possible the Phillies could take a similar approach to Game 3 of the division series last year in Los Angeles, when Nola faced eight batters in two innings before yielding to fellow starter Ranger Suárez.
Nola said Sunday that he felt “a little bit more [sore], for sure” after his first-ever start on short rest. But he threw a between-starts bullpen session Monday in Atlanta.
“I could throw 40 to 50 pitches in a bullpen, and it’s never going to be the game situation, the adrenaline rush,” Nola said. “But I feel good.”
Nola has made 41 career starts against the Braves, posting a 3.71 ERA in 252⅓ innings. In three starts this season, he has a 4.50 ERA, with the Braves batting .250 with a .500 slugging percentage.
In the postseason, Nola has twice faced the Braves in a series that was tied at one game apiece. He allowed one unearned run in six innings against the Braves in Game 3 of the 2022 NL division series and two runs in 5⅔ innings in Game 3 of the same round in 2023. The Phillies won both games — and both series.
Jesús Luzardo could possibly sit in the bullpen for Game 3, although it’s unclear if the Phillies would use him on two days’ rest after he missed three weeks in September with an inflamed left shoulder.
» READ MORE: Murphy: Three Phillies conquered a game of failure, saved their season, and summoned the spirit of 2022
Rookie starter Andrew Painter saved the Phillies’ season in Game 2 against the Braves by making his postseason debut as a reliever and tossing three scoreless innings in a 4-3, 10-inning victory.
NBC Sports Philadelphia was first with the news that Nola would start Game 3.
