The Braves Starter vs. Phillies In Pivotal Game 3 Will Be Making Playoff Debut

We have Game 3 in the Wild Card Series between the Braves and Phillies. The winner moves on, and the loser heads home. And if the NL East champions want to stay alive, they’ll be leaning on an unlikely starter. The Braves will have left-hander Ray Kerr make his first career postseason appearance as the opener against the Phillies in Thursday night’s decisive game. Braves right-hander Grant Holmes (10-6, 3.44) is expected to pitch in bulk relief behind Kerr. On Sept. 25, Kerr threw three scoreless innings as the opener at Miami and Holmes allowed one run in four innings of a 3-0 loss. Kerr, 32, was recalled by Atlanta on Aug. 16 and he made his first major league appearance in more than two years the following day. Kerr underwent Tommy John surgery in 2024 and didn’t pitch at all in 2025. Kerr posted a 1.47 ERA in nine games with Atlanta. He made two appearances against the Phillies in September, with the most recent a three-inning outing on Sept. 13. Veteran right-hander Aaron Nola is expected to start for the Phillies. Nola was 7-12 with a 4.67 ERA in the regular season. The Phillies beat the Braves 4-3 in 10 innings on Wednesday to force the decisive game of the best-of-three series.Reporting by The Associated Press.