The Philadelphia Phillies came into their final road series of the 2025 season still with a chance to chase down the Milwaukee Brewers for the No. 1 seed in the National League. While claiming the top spot in the NL and all of baseball would be a huge accomplishment, the Phillies are more concerned about getting ready for their first postseason series and setting their roster for when Red October finally arrives.
Earlier in the week, days before their weekend series with the Arizona Diamondbacks the Phillies announced that they would be shuffling their starting rotation. After clinching the NL East in Los Angeles, manager Rob Thomson told reporters that he would adjust his starting pitchers in the desert to line up left-hander Cristopher Sánchez as the Game 1 starter for the National League Division Series.
Phillies name Cristopher Sánchez NLDS Game 1 starter amid rotation shuffle
As MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reported on Wednesday, the Phillies juggled things to have a Taijuan Walker-Walker Buehler piggyback to begin the series against the D-backs on Friday.
Right-hander Aaron Nola is now lined up to start Saturday, while lefty Ranger Suárez is scheduled for the series finale on Sunday. After the Phillies travel back to Citizens Bank Park, Sánchez will take the ball on Tuesday to kick off the final homestand of the season against the Miami Marlins. Assuming the Phillies hold onto a top-two seed and earn the first-round bye, he'll also start the season finale on Sunday, Sept. 28, and Game 1 of the NLDS on Saturday, Oct. 4.
It’ll be a Taijuan Walker-Walker Buehler piggyback on Friday in AZ.
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) September 18, 2025
Yes, a Walker Buehler piggyback.
Aaron Nola will start Sat. Ranger Suarez will start on Sunday. It moves Cristopher Sanchez to Tuesday, putting him in line to start regular-season finale, then Game 1 of NLDS.
Starting Sánchez is an obvious, and really the only, choice that Thomson has for a Game 1 starter with Zack Wheeler no longer in the picture. Sánchez has officially risen to ace status this season as one of the top starting pitchers in Major League Baseball, continuing his progression after a breakout 2024 campaign.
The 28-year-old has compiled the third-highest fWAR among all pitchers at 5.7, trailing only Tarik Skubal (6.4) and Paul Skenes (6.1). In 30 starts, he's 13-5 with a 2.66 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP and 198 strikeouts in 189 1/3 innings.
The rest of the rotation remains up in the air. The Phillies will only need three starting pitchers for the NLDS, which starts on Oct. 4. It's very likely that they'll feature three left-handers, with Suárez and Jesús Luzardo in the mix.
A lot of the plans might depend on how Aaron Nola looks in his final two regular season starts. At the very least, he'll be looking to show that he's a viable option to start a game in the NLCS if the Phillies advance. Only time will tell.
One thing we do know is that the Phillies will be in good hands when Sánchez takes the mound for Game 1 in October.