Thursday playoff discussion thread

Welcome to OCTOBER BASEBALL.

We have for you another Thursday baseball discussion thread, but this time, featuring 100% more playoffs! Which, of course, means no Royals 🙁

Only one game today as three of the four Wild Card series ended in sweeps yesterday.

First, the White Sox knocked out the Astros. Crane’s Boys are out! No great shock.

The Yankees disposed of the Red Sox last evening. Not much of a series as the nonJudgemental Yankees smoked Boston to the tune of 18-2 over two games.

Lastly, the Padres swept the Cubs, winning last night 4-1. I hope you agree with me that the playoffs just became 10 times more enjoyable with the Cubs eliminated.

The only series left is Philadelphia vs Atlanta. The Braves took game one on Tuesday 5-3 with three runs in the bottom of the eighth. Last night, the Phillies scored twice in the top of the eighth to tie the game at 3-3 before winning it in extras, 4-3. Alec Bohm, somewhat of a local kid—went to high school in Omaha before attending Wichita State—hit a home run in the top of the tenth to give the Phillies a lead it would not relinquish.

The pitching matchup will be Aaron Nola for the Phillies against Ray Kerr for the Braves.

Nola, a 12-year vet, all with Philadelphia, finished the season only 7-12 with a 4.67 ERA (3% below league average) and a 4.87 FIP. He also allowed the most home runs with 37. This will be his 12th career playoff start.

The Braves counter with Ray Kerr, more of an Opener than a Starter. The 31-year-old lefty only opened one game for the Braves this season, which was his last outing against the Marlins. He fared well, going three innings in which he walked one, allowed two hits, but didn’t give up any runs. He only pitched in nine games this season, but in that limited action, which totaled 18-and-1/3 innings, he sported a 1.47 ERA, 3.97 FIP while striking out 11 and walking two.

More importantly, Kerr faced the Phillies twice in September, and held them scoreless over both outings. In those two appearances, he pitched 6-and-1/3 innings, allowed two hits while walking zero batters and striking out five. None of his four inherited runners came around to score.

Kerr has never before pitched in the playoffs.

You can catch the game on NBC or Peacock at 7:00 p.m. CDT.

Lineups with the visitors first:

And for the home squad:

May the best team win.

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