The season ends for the Philadelphia Phillies or the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night in Atlanta.

Philadelphia forced a Game 3 with a 4-3 win in 10 innings Wednesday. The winner advances to the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Who is pitching

Aaron Nola starts for Philadelphia at 7-12 with a 4.67 ERA and 177 strikeouts. He is the most rested Phillies starter and last pitched Saturday on short rest against Tampa Bay, allowing three runs in one inning. He had a 6.04 ERA through June 29 and a 3.12 ERA over his final 15 starts before Sunday. He had a 4.50 ERA in three starts against Atlanta this season.

Nola pitched for Italy at the World Baseball Classic in March, starting the semifinal game against Venezuela at loanDepot Park in Miami.

Ray Kerr opens for Atlanta. The left-hander is 0-0 with a 1.47 ERA in nine appearances this season and has made one start, three innings against Miami on Sept. 25. Opponents are hitting .150 against him. He has pitched four seasons in the majors with San Diego and Atlanta and has a 4.33 career ERA.

Every Phillies pitcher except Cristopher Sanchez, who started Game 2, is expected to be available. That includes Zack Wheeler, who threw 97 pitches Sunday, Jesus Luzardo, who started Game 1, and Andrew Painter, who threw three scoreless innings to win Game 2.

Closer Jhoan Duran is expected to be available after sitting out Game 2 with soreness. He threw 27 pitches over two innings in Game 1.

Aaron Nola pitches for Italy in a World Baseball Classic semifinal against Venezuela.
Italy pitcher Aaron Nola (27) aims a pitch during the first inning of a World Baseball Classic semifinal game against Venezuela, Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami. — (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

How to watch

The game is on NBC and streams on Peacock. YouTube TV, Fubo and DirecTV also carry it.

Phillies at Braves, NL Wild Card Series Game 3
Thursday, Oct. 1, 8 p.m. ET
Truist Park, Atlanta

A 30-minute pregame show starts at 7:30 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBC Sports Network. First pitch is scheduled for 8:15. A postgame show follows on the same platforms.

Spanish coverage is on Universo with Univision Radio providing Spanish audio. Radio is 94 WIP in Philadelphia with Spanish on 106.1 Rumba, 680 AM and 93.7 FM The Fan in Atlanta with Spanish on La Mejor, and ESPN Radio nationally.

Lineups

Philadelphia: Trea Turner SS, Kyle Schwarber DH, Bryce Harper RF, Alec Bohm 1B, Bryson Stott 2B, Bryan De La Cruz LF, Edmundo Sosa 3B, J.T. Realmuto C, Justin Crawford CF.

Sosa is back at third after leaving Game 2 with a right leg injury.

Atlanta: Drake Baldwin C, Ronald Acuna Jr. RF, Matt Olson 1B, Michael Harris II CF, Mauricio Dubon SS, Mike Yastrzemski LF, Austin Riley 3B, Ozzie Albies 2B, Dominic Smith DH.

Dubon moves to shortstop with Yastrzemski in left. Ha-Seong Kim started the first two games at short and sits.

How the series got here

Atlanta won Game 1 5-3. Austin Riley hit a three-run homer off Duran with two outs in the eighth after Philadelphia led through seven and a half. Chris Sale struck out nine over 6 1/3 innings.

Philadelphia won Game 2 4-3 in 10 innings. Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth to tie it, and Alec Bohm homered in the 10th. The game ended on the first walk-off ABS challenge in postseason history. Painter got the win and Didier Fuentes took the loss.

Teams that lose Game 1 under the current wild card format are 1-18 in the series. The one exception came last year, when the New York Yankees lost the opener at home to Boston and won the next two.

Braves left-hander Ray Kerr delivers a pitch against the Marlins.
Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Ray Kerr throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Miami. — (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Who has hit in this series

Alec Bohm is 3-for-8 with a home run and two RBIs. Austin Riley is 2-for-7 with a homer and three RBIs. Schwarber and Harper each have a home run.

Michael Harris II is 3-for-6. Ozzie Albies is 3-for-9 with an RBI.

Over the full season, Schwarber tied for the major league lead with 45 home runs and drove in 97. Harper hit 29 with a .380 on-base percentage. Matt Olson hit 41 for Atlanta with 93 RBIs. Harris hit .294 with 26 homers.

The international rosters

Sixteen Phillies played in the World Baseball Classic in March across ten national teams. Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Brad Keller played for the United States. Cristopher Sanchez and Johan Rojas played for the Dominican Republic. Jesus Luzardo and Ranger Suarez played for Venezuela. Nola and Dante Nori played for Italy. Edmundo Sosa played for Panama. Taijuan Walker and Alan Rangel played for Mexico.

Atlanta sent Ronald Acuna Jr. to Venezuela, Ozzie Albies and Chadwick Tromp to the Netherlands, Mauricio Dubon and Nacho Alvarez Jr. to Mexico, Javy Guerra to Panama and Dane Dunning to South Korea.

Hall of Famer Andruw Jones managed the Netherlands.

Kyle Schwarber laughs with Byron Buxton during a Team USA workout at the World Baseball Classic.
United States' Kyle Schwarber, right, laughs while talking with Byron Buxton during a World Baseball Classic workout Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Houston. — (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Injuries

Atlanta is without Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, Hurston Waldrep, Joey Wentz and Joe Jimenez on the 60-day injured list. Reynaldo Lopez, Martin Perez and Bryce Elder are on the 15-day list. Lane Thomas is on the 10-day.

Philadelphia has Felix Reyes, Johan Rojas, Brad Keller, Adolis Garcia and Caleb Kilian on the 60-day list. Jonathan Bowlan is day-to-day.

What's next

The winner opens the National League Division Series at Los Angeles, which earned a bye as the No. 2 seed.

In the other wild card series, the Chicago White Sox swept Houston and face Cleveland. The New York Yankees and San Diego Padres also advanced.