The Phillies and the host Braves will play the deciding Game 3 of their Wild Card Series on Thursday night at Truist Park. Start time is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Veteran right-hander Aaron Nola will start for the Phillies, while lefty Raymond Kerr will take the mound for Atlanta as the opener, perhaps of the multi-inning variety.
The first two games of the best-of-three series have been taut and hotly contested. The series opener turned on a late home run by Austin Riley, while the Phillies rebounded in Game 2 on Wednesday with a trio of clutch homers in the late innings. All of that sets the scene for the high-stakes Game 3 with a trip to the NLDS to face the back-to-back World Series champion Dodgers.
To set the scene, our CBS Sports MLB experts have made their predictions for how Game 3 will play out and which team will advance. Axisa: Phillies 5, Braves 2. Neither team is in great shape pitching-wise for Game 3, but I feel better about what the Phillies have lined up.
There's no real path to nine innings without Aaron Nola, so starting him and then adjusting afterward is the correct move. Zack Wheeler will come into play at some point. He wouldn't be on the roster if he wasn't going to be available in a win-or-go-home Game 3.
The Braves got one big swing from Austin Riley in Game 1, but their offense otherwise has kind of been stuck in the mud. They needed the Alec Bohm and Bryce Harper misplays to score their second and third runs in Game 2. I think the Phillies complete the comeback and join last year's Yankees as the only teams to win the Wild Card Series after losing Game 1.
Feldman: Braves 8, Phillies 4. The Phillies aren't as bad as they played in the last week, but momentum does matter in sports, no matter what anyone says. They clearly haven't been right.
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