We’ve got two NL East rivals, with a whole lot of history between them, including some real rancor in this very season. Will the Phillies handle the Braves in the postseason again, after taking the NL Division Series from them in both 2022 and ‘23? Or will the Braves come out on top, like they did in the 2026 division race, sending a veteran Phillies club into an uncertain offseason? It’s going to be a brutal end for whoever comes out on the short end of things.
Here are three questions leading into this decisive Game 3, with a ticket to face the Dodgers in the NLDS at stake.
Phillies at Braves
8 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock
SP: TBA (PHI) vs. TBA (ATL)
Can the Phillies’ veterans keep them alive again?
If you had been inclined to make a case for the Phillies heading into this postseason -- and after their September, you can be forgiven for not feeling that particular inclination -- the case would have been something like this: When the Phillies’ backs were against the wall, all those veterans, the ones making this last stand to finally win a World Series, would come through. And then, down 3-1 in the top of the eighth inning of Game 2, facing elimination … those veterans did exactly that. Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper launched the most clutch homers you’ll find in this round, and then Alec Bohm (who is not considered a veteran but probably should be) broke that tie in the 10th to keep the Phillies’ season alive.
The Phillies understand, better than anyone, how precious, and fleeting, these postseason opportunities are. They’ll be relying on those veterans even more in Game 3. Of the five pitchers who have thrown the most innings in baseball this decade, two of them -- Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler -- figure to be the primary options for the Phillies in this game (though they’ve yet to announce a starter). This is an old team. As we saw in Game 2, that is not always a bad thing.
How do the Braves cobble together their pitching?
In a short series like this, coming so soon after the regular season ends, Game 3 is always going to be a little bit of an all-hands-on-deck scramble. But it’s especially fascinating for the Braves, who, when they play the Phillies, do seem to build their pitching mostly around, “How do you deal with Schwarber and Harper?”
That could mean a left-hander, such as Ray Kerr or Brent Suter, working as an opener to face those two before handing it over to righty Grant Holmes. Even after Game 2 hinged on Braves southpaw Dylan Lee allowing back-to-back homers to the Phillies’ two big lefty bats, you still have to figure Atlanta will continue to chase the platoon advantage as much as possible. In a game as tight as this one, they could stagger their four lefties (Kerr, Suter, Lee and Dylan Dodd) to be ready whenever those two stars are about to come up. Game 2 was a vivid example of what the Braves need to avoid. Game 3 will present another challenge.
Is Ronald Acuña Jr. going to have a moment?
You will not be able to hear any booing from Philadelphia at Truist Park on Thursday night -- not that Phillies fans won’t do their best anyway. But it is a little surprising how little Acuña has impacted this series so far. Sure, he has drawn two walks, been hit by a pitch and stolen two bases -- and made some brotherly history in the process -- but he doesn’t have a hit yet in the series.
That’s sort of his pattern against the Phillies in the postseason: He was 2-for-14 against them in the 2023 NLDS loss and managed just four singles and a lone double in the 2022 NLDS loss. Obviously, he has had some big moments against them during the regular season, specifically this regular season. That is the primary reason the Phillies fans have been booing him so much, after all. (Acuña, seemingly embracing the villain role, had some fun back and forth with them.) But his tormenting of Philadelphians has not extended to the playoffs -- at least not yet. Does the Braves’ biggest star have a signature October moment in him?