The Phillies are turning to a starter with a 5.14 ERA in his last 50 starts.
The Braves are opening with a reliever who has pitched nine times since the end of the 2024 season.
Welcome to Desperationville.
The only wild-card series to go the distance will feature the Phillies starting veteran Aaron Nola over ace Zack Wheeler on short rest, per The Athletic, and the Braves countering with southpaw reliever Ray Kerr, who went 26 months between major-league appearances before his Aug. 17 season debut.
Neither NL East squad has to be loving its current situation, with the Phillies surely kicking themselves for stumbling late in the year and the Braves’ lack of pitching depth looming large.
In an ideal world, the Phillies would have had Wheeler available for a start in this series but they had to burn him Sunday against the Rays to secure their playoff spot.
Rather than turn to Wheeler on three days rest, they will be going with Nola on regular rest.
Nola had a chance to ensure Wheeler could start in this series when he faced the Rays last Saturday, but he lasted one inning and allowed three runs on four hits.
He finished the regular season with a 7-12 record and a 4.67 ERA.
The Athletic noted that Wheeler could serve as a reliever, along with Game 1 starter Jesus Luzardo, but he’s made just one relief appearance out of 323 career MLB outings, including the postseason.
Wheeler tossed 1 ⅔ innings in relief in the 2023 NLCS in a 4-2 loss to the Diamondbacks.
The Braves, meanwhile, are likely using Kerr to limit how many times Grant Holmes — a starter — has to face the Phillies’ lineup, per The Athletic.
Holmes allowed an .886 OPS to opposing batters when facing them a second time, compared to a .590 OPS the first time through.
Kerr, meanwhile, only joined the team in August after last pitching for the franchise in 2024.
He only made his major-league debut at 27 in 2022 after previously working at 7-Eleven.
“It’s really surprising to just see him go from 7-Eleven and us working together at IMAX theater,” Kerr’s brother Richard Kerr told The Athletic for a piece published in September.
“Him furthering his career was such an eye-opener for a lot of people.”
