Braves going with an opener to start Game 3 against Phillies
According to Braves beat reporter Mark Bowman, Atlanta is turning to Ray Kerr to open Thursday night’s winner-take-all Game 3 against the Phillies. Ray Kerr is starting tonight. — Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) October 1, 2026 Coming off injury, Kerr didn’t get a lot of work this season, only tossing 18.1 innings. But the results were […]
According to Braves beat reporter Mark Bowman, Atlanta is turning to Ray Kerr to open Thursday night’s winner-take-all Game 3 against the Phillies.
Ray Kerr is starting tonight.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) October 1, 2026
Coming off injury, Kerr didn’t get a lot of work this season, only tossing 18.1 innings. But the results were nearly flawless, as he gave up only three runs, good for a 1.47 ERA. Two of those outings also came against the Phillies, in which he tossed 6.1 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits with five strikeouts.
That was enough to earn Walt Weiss’ trust, as he’s turning to the lefty in hopes of getting through Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber the first time through the order. In a perfect world, Weiss would probably like to lean on Kerr to do that twice, but perfect worlds don’t often exist in winner-take-all environments.
Kerr has gone at least three innings four times out of his nine appearances this season, so he’s capable of giving the Braves some length if his success against the Phillies from the regular season carries over into the playoffs.
After Kerr, it’s anybody’s best guess. Grant Holmes is an option if the Braves need some length, but this feels like a situation where Weiss is just going to have to feel things out and trust his gut. Atlanta’s bullpen — despite its struggles in Games 1 and 2 — has been a strength all season. And it hasn’t been asked to do much through the first two games, with both Chris Sale and Tyler Mahle making it through more than six innings each.
In fact, the Braves have only had to use three relievers the entire series — Dylan Lee, Didier Fuentes, and Raisel Iglesias. That will allow Weiss to lean on some other arms that have had really good years — like Dylan Dodd, Brent Suter, and Robert Suarez — if he wants to make this a full bullpen game.
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Photo: IMAGO / Newscom World
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