After a five-day layoff following the end of their 95-win regular season, the Philadelphia Phillies have given us a look at how they plan on rolling out their starting pitchers for the upcoming NLDS against the New York Mets. At least for the first three games.
As the NL East champions and No. 2 seed in the National League, the Phillies have home-field advantage and will host the first two games of the best-of-five series at the friendly confines of Citizens Bank Park.
In case you missed it, we have you covered with all the up-to-date NLDS schedule information, including game dates, times and broadcast details.
Phillies' NLDS rotation features Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez and Aaron Nola, with Ranger Suárez as the fourth option
There was never any doubt who would get the ball for Game 1. On Wednesday, in a Zoom call with media, Phillies manager Rob Thomson confirmed what we all already knew: that ace Zack Wheeler is his Game 1 starter, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. The Cy Young contender faced the Mets once this season, holding them to two runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts through seven innings.
In an interesting and somewhat unconventional wrinkle, Thomson told gathered media on Friday that he will start left-hander Cristopher Sánchez in Game 2 on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park instead of veteran Aaron Nola. While there were rumblings that this may happen, it's not exactly a conventional move. Sánchez has been great in a breakout season, however, and has much better numbers at home than he does on the road.
"Yes, it will be Cristopher Sánchez," Thomson said when asked if he had decided on his Game 2 starter. "Looking at playing the Mets, going into Citi Field, I think it's going to be a pretty hostile environment, and looking at Sanchy's home-road splits, I just thought it was really the smartest thing to do."
Nola will start Game 3 when the series shifts to Citi Field on Tuesday. The right-hander started two games against the Mets in 2024 with very mixed results. He tossed a complete game shutout in New York in May but then gave up six runs over 4 1/3 innings in mid-September.
If the series goes to past three games, lefty Ranger Suárez will be an option get the start in Game 4. Suárez struggled mightily down the stretch, but Thomson was encouraged by his two-inning outing during the team's intrasquad game this week, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer's Alex Coffey.
Thomson saw an improvement from Ranger Suárez, who pitched 2 innings & showed better command. He sat 92-93.
— Alex Coffey (@byalexcoffey) October 2, 2024
Turnbull pitched 1 inning. Touched 92 but was "erratic." Thomson said they won't put a ton of weight into his outing today but also said he needs some work, in his opinion
Who will the Mets start against the Phillies in the NLDS?
Right-hander Tylor Megill was reportedly the leading candidate to start Game 1 for the Mets, but in a surprising move, they have opted to start Kodai Senga instead, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
BREAKING: Kodai Senga will start Game 1 of the NLDS, Carlos Mendoza said.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) October 4, 2024
The right-hander made one start on July 26 after spending the first four months on the IL with a strained posterior capsule in his right shoulder. He then landed back on the IL with a strained left calf and missed the rest of the regular season.
Righty Luis Severino will be back on regular rest on Sunday and should get the Game 2 start. Sean Manaea and Jose Quintana will also be back on regular rest, so the Phillies can expect to see the left-handers at some point.