The Phillies and Braves meet for a winner-take-all Game 3 of their Wild Card series on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Games 1 and 2 were both decided by game-winning homers, setting up a decisive matchup after the Phillies forced the series to a third game.
The Phillies leaned heavily on pitching depth to stay alive. Cristopher Sánchez delivered a strong start, while Andrew Painter provided what one outlet called an "incredible performance" out of the bullpen, leaving the entire Phillies bullpen likely available for Game 3.
The Braves face questions about offensive execution heading into Thursday. One observer noted the disparity: Atlanta hit a home run and allowed none in its Game 1 win, then surrendered three homers while hitting none in its Game 2 loss, raising concerns about the team's offensive consistency in a winner-take-all situation.