The team hopped on a charter flight Tuesday morning, then went straight to Dodger Stadium from Hollywood Burbank Airport.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlayed a lot of cards,\u201d Bryce Harper said. \u201cThat was fun. Obviously, we didn\u2019t think about the game or anything like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
If they\u2019re going to go out, they will do it their way. So the longest-tenured player among this group, Aaron Nola, will start Game 3.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo-or-die playoff game, he\u2019s the guy you want,\u201d Phillies righty Taijuan Walker said. \u201cNo emotions. Still heartbeat. I think everyone in this locker room trusts him probably more than anyone. Just because he\u2019s done it.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a curious gambit, given Nola endured the worst season of his career and Ranger Su\u00e1rez is still waiting to be used in this series. Su\u00e1rez is going to pitch on Wednesday night. It\u2019s a matter of when.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe numbers on their lefty (hitters) are very similar, Ranger versus Nola,\u201d Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. \u201cAnd the trust factor \u2014 I have trust in both of them, don\u2019t get me wrong. But Nola has pitched in some really big games for us in the last couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n Ranger Su\u00e1rez, who has a 1.43 ERA over 10 postseason appearances (eight appearances) will pitch at some point in Game 3. (Emilee Chinn \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
To be clear: The Phillies do not plan on Nola making a traditional start. It could be two or three innings. Maybe once through the batting order, then Su\u00e1rez enters for Shohei Ohtani\u2019s second at-bat. Maybe, if Nola is pitching well, he keeps going.<\/p>\n
If anything, this arrangement could allow the Phillies to navigate the pitfalls of the sixth and seventh innings. All nine runs the Phillies have allowed in this series have come then, as they have struggled to find the right bullpen solution.<\/p>\n
So, they\u2019ll try two starters. The club\u2019s ideal scenario is Nola and Su\u00e1rez can combine for seven innings.<\/p>\n
The Dodgers will counter by having Max Muncy in the lineup for the first time in this series. The Phillies have wondered if Nola starting would prompt Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to tweak the top of his lineup by having Freddie Freeman bat third instead of fourth. That could create a better pocket \u2014 Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freeman \u2014 for a lefty reliever later in the game.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles could just stick with what carried it here.<\/p>\n
Thomson cited Nola\u2019s final start, an eight-inning gem against a hapless Minnesota Twins team eager to finish the season. Nola had a 5.84 ERA in eight starts in August and September after missing months with ankle and rib injuries. Only one of those starts came against a postseason team; Nola allowed six runs in five innings versus the Milwaukee Brewers.<\/p>\n
The Dodgers, as a team, hit only .214 with a .387 slugging percentage against right-handed curveballs. Nola faced the Dodgers in April at Citizens Bank Park and held them to three runs in six innings. Su\u00e1rez allowed three runs in six innings last month at Dodger Stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d regret having either one of those guys not pitch in this series,\u201d Thomson said.<\/p>\n
Bader\u2019s status<\/p>\n
Harrison Bader did some agility drills and light running in right field during Tuesday\u2019s workout under the watchful eye of a half-dozen Phillies staff members. He is a \u201cgame-time decision\u201d for Game 3, Thomson said.<\/p>\n
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