The host Phillies and Braves will play the deciding Game 3 of their Wild Card series Thursday night at Truist Park. Start time is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET. Veteran right-hander Aaron Nola will start for the Phillies, while left-hander Raymond Kerr will take the mound for Atlanta as the opener, possibly in multiple innings.
The first two matches of the best-of-three series were tense and hotly contested. The opening of the series enabled a late home run by Austin Rileywhile the Phillies bounced back in Game 2 Wednesday with a trio of late-inning clutch homers.
All of this sets the stage 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 made their predictions on how Game 3 will play out and which team will advance.
Braves vs. Phillies Game 3 Info
- Date: Thursday October 1 | Time: 8 p.m. ET
- Location: Truist Park – Atlanta, Georgia
- TV: NBC/Fubo
- Odds (via FanDuel): Braves -192 | O/U: 7.5
Braves vs. Phillies Predictions for Game 3
Axisa: Phillies 5, Braves 2. Neither team is in great shape from a pitching standpoint for Game 3, but I feel better about what the Phillies fielded. There’s no real path to nine innings without Aaron Nola, so starting him and then adjusting afterward is the right move. Zack Wheeler will come into play at some point. He wouldn’t be on the roster if he wasn’t available in a win-or-go-home Game 3. The Braves got a big hit from Austin Riley in Game 1, but their offense is otherwise kind of stuck in the mud. They needed errors from Alec Bohm and Bryce Harper to score their second and third points in Game 2. I think the Phillies complete their 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 were last week, but momentum matters in sports, no matter what anyone says. They clearly weren’t right. Plus, I have a hard time counting on Aaron Nola to save their season. They achieved a miraculous victory in the second game. They won’t do it again.
McWilliams: Phillies 7, Braves 3. I’m going with the Phillies because I still believe in Aaron Nola (covering my eyes). The Braves are starting with a game one opener and having to piece that together with a bullpen in Game 3 will be difficult.
Pear: Braves 7, Phillies 5. I don’t have much confidence in Nola right now. I know his ERA was pretty good in the second half, but on an underlying level he was worse than the first half. Neither pitching staff is well prepared for this game, and I think the early runs will be plentiful. There’s no real rhyme or reason when it comes to predicting the outcome of a single game between two good teams, but I’ll lean toward the Braves because they’re at home and have the better team offense and defense.
Snyder: Braves 5, Phillies 4. The Phillies pitching staff is angry right now, even though the Braves aren’t in great shape to prepare their starter for this one either. I’ll just go with the best team playing at home. I think they will have a big inning and that will be enough to do it. However, nothing would really surprise me here, as neither team is overly reliable, either offensively or with their shooting. The Phillies’ poor defense certainly concerns me and that’s another factor.
Gn sports
