When the Braves announced their postseason roster for the National League Wild Card series against the Phillies, Atlanta's obvious hope was to eliminate the Phillies in two games. After that, the pitching situation would become far trickier.
Well, after back-to-back home runs from Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper (followed by Alec Bohm's go-ahead shot in extra innings on Wednesday), the Braves find themselves facing the exact scenario that manager Walt Weiss hoped to avoid.
With Atlanta already burning through starters Chris Sale and Tyler Mahle in the opening two games, Weiss was forced to get creative with his pitching strategy for Game 3. On Thursday, the Braves offered their first glimpse of that plan.
LHP Ray Kerr will start tonight’s game.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) October 1, 2026
The Braves are electing to start reliever Ray Kerr against the Phillies' Aaron Nola. Kerr joined the Braves in 2024 but missed all of 2025 and most of 2026 as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. Since returning in August, he's been a major boost to the bullpen with a 1.47 ERA in 18 innings of work.
The hope with starting Kerr is that he can eat up innings before Weiss turns to starting pitcher Grant Holmes.
Holmes has faced the Phillies four times this season with a 3.05 ERA against Philadelphia. But Holmes had struggled in later innings once an opponent gets a second cycle through the lineup. That's where Kerr needs to go deep and buy time for Holmes.
The Phillies opted to go with Nola over Zack Wheeler who should also be available in relief.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: What is the Braves' pitching plan for NL Wild Card Game 3 vs. the Phillies?
