A day after clinching the top Wild Card spot in the National League, Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson revealed the starters he plans to lean on for the first two games of the NLWCS.
Zack Wheeler will start Game 1 for the Phillies, assuming health. Wheeler is 13-6 with a 3.64 ERA and 3.19 FIP over 188 innings this season. The 33-year-old righty leads all starting pitchers with a 5.8 WAR this season, according to FanGraphs.
Wheeler will still make his scheduled start Thursday against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the final home game of the 2023 season. However, after striking out eight and allowing just one run over 6 2/3 innings Tuesday, Aaron Nola will not make another start during the regular season. The 30-year-old will continue with his normal bullpen sessions.
Nola will start Game 2 of the NLWCS. It’s largely been a disappointing contract year for Nola, who will finish his ninth season in Philadelphia with a 4.46 ERA and 4.03 FIP across 193 2/3 innings pitched. Nola ended the campaign on a positive note, though, and the former All-Star will be well-rested heading into the postseason.
As for Game 3, if there is one, Thomson wasn’t prepared to announce a starter yet. Ranger Suárez is the top candidate, but the Phillies don’t want to rule him out as a bullpen option in the first two games. If for whatever reason a Game 3 is necessary and Suárez isn’t the starter, it would seem that Taijuan Walker and Cristopher Sánchez are the two most likely candidates. It’s also possible that the Phillies could use an opener, and then have one or both Walker and/or Sánchez pitch later in the game. Again, there’s lots of ifs here.
The Phillies don’t yet know who their opponent will be for the best-of-three WCS that will be played exclusively at Citizens Bank Park. As of now, it would be the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Chicago Cubs and Miami Marlins remain realistic potential possibilities as well.
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