ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves will have left-hander Ray Kerr make his first career postseason appearance as the opener against the Philadelphia Phillies in Thursday night's decisive game of the NL Wild Card Series.
The Braves announced the decision Thursday.
Veteran right-hander Aaron Nola is expected to start for the Phillies. Nola was 7-12 with a 4.67 ERA in the regular season.
Braves right-hander Grant Holmes (10-6, 3.44) is expected to pitch in bulk relief behind Kerr. On Sept. 25, Kerr threw three scoreless innings as the opener at Miami and Holmes allowed one run in four innings of a 3-0 loss.
Kerr, 32, was recalled by Atlanta on Aug. 16 and he made his first major league appearance in more than two years the following day. Kerr underwent Tommy John surgery in 2024 and didn’t pitch at all in 2025.
Kerr posted a 1.47 ERA in nine games with Atlanta.
The Phillies beat the Braves 4-3 in 10 innings on Wednesday to force the decisive game of the best-of-three series.
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